Josh Allen, an NFL quarterback, and Tiger Woods play at The Genesis pro-am.
At The Genesis Invitational last year, Josh Allen encountered Tiger Woods and was rendered “speechless.”
They participated in the pro-am on Wednesday at The Riviera Country Club together this year.
At the storied Los Angeles venue, the 15-time major champion and the great quarterback for the Buffalo Bills exchanged chuckles while Allen probed Woods’ game strategy and competitive spirit with insightful questions all day long.
Woods is scheduled to tee off alongside Justin Thomas and Gary Woodland at 9:25 a.m. local time on Thursday, marking his first start on the TOUR since the Masters Tournament last year. In addition, it will be Woods’ first non-major TOUR start since the Genesis tournament last year.
Woods spent a day at Riviera with veteran MLB outfielder Aaron Hicks and Allen, who has guided the Bills to the postseason five times in a row, for his final tune-up.
Although the Kansas City Chiefs were the ones who should have been celebrating with a parade for the Super Bowl, Allen absorbed knowledge from the 82-time champion of the Tour.
Woods remarked, “You can see the enjoyment and the addiction he has for the game of golf.” “He posed amazing queries about how he could improve.”
These days, Allen is no stranger in TOUR circles. Following the Bills’ loss to the Chiefs in the NFL Playoffs divisional round, Allen partnered with TOUR pro Keith Mitchell for the third time at Pebble Beach as they participated in the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.
Allen is a native of Firebaugh, California, and admits to becoming addicted to the game, which he has continued to adore as an adult.
He was “a touch starstruck obviously” when he saw Woods following the final round of last year’s Genesis, which he attended.
Last year, Allen remarked, “He’s one of the only athletes ever—him and Kobe are the only two individuals that I truly felt my heart beat quicker.”
At the Genesis last year, Woods carded rounds of 69-74-67-73 at Riviera, finishing T45. The following week, he had ankle surgery. He played in the Masters, where he made the cut with rounds of 74-73 before pulling out during the third round.
In December, Woods, 48, made his competitive comeback at the Hero World Challenge, where he placed 18th out of 20 competitors.
Health-wise, the results were encouraging, and he later declared his intention to participate in one TOUR event each month in 2024. He is on time.
