Tiger pays tribute to Kobe Bryant on way to 69 as Kuchar leads with 64  

Los Angeles, Feb 14: Tiger Woods began with a stunning eagle from 24 feet eight inches on the first and went on to four-under through eight hole being pulled back to two-under 69 by end of the first round at the Riviera in The Genesis Invitational.

Woods’ 69 placed him T-17, but the man of the day was Matt Kuchar, whose career-best equalling 64 at the Riviera gave him a three-shot lead.

K.H. Lee and Russell Henley also played bogey-free and were at 67, along with Wyndham Clark from the morning wave. Adam Schenk and Harold Varner III each had 67 in the afternoon.

Rory McIlroy opened with a 68 and it took him time to get going. Patrick Cantlay and Patrick Reed were among those at 68. Brooks Koepka had a 69, the same as Woods.

Woods 24 feet 8 inch putt was a tribute of sorts to Kobe Bryant – whose numbers were 24 and 8. After an eagle on first and birdies on fifth and eighth, there were no more birdies and he dropped shots on 12thand 18th.

Kuchar’s round was solid as he needed ‘must make’ putt only once at 10 feet for par at the par-3 fourth. The conditions were ideal once the morning chill gave way to mild sunshine, and Kuchar took advantage of all that.

Beginning on the tenth, he drove it to the edge of the 10th green and two-putted for birdie and added birdies on 11thand 13thto go three-under for four holes. He kept going and reached 7-under 64, matching his best score at Riviera. However, Kuchar has only one top 10 in his 13 previous appearances here.

Woods does not have a great record at the Riviera, where he has played 10 times as a pro and twice as an amateur and never won. He is seeking his 83rd PGA TOUR victory to set the career mark he currently shares with Sam Snead.

This week the TOUR has dedicated hole No. 8 to Bryant, who wore Nos. 8 and 24 during his 20 years with the Lakers. The hole has a purple-and-gold tee sign. Woods made birdie there, his last one of the round.

“Ironic having those two numbers,” Woods said of the length of his eagle putt. “And then No. 8, happened to hit one in there close and had a nice little kick-in there for birdie.”

Justin Thomas opened with a 74 and was in danger of missing the cut for the second time this year.

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