Tiger Woods returns, completes star-studded Florida event alongside PGA of America CEO

Tiger Woods was back playing golf again.

Paired with PGA of America CEO Seth Waugh at Monday’s Seminole Golf Club Pro-Member event, Woods and Waugh carded a 2-under 70 in the gross competition.

That put them in a tie for 44th in the 78-team field, per 5 Clubs Golf on X.

Woods and Waugh then tied for 33rd in the low-net competition, signing for a 5-under 67. The USGA lists Waugh as having a 9.6 handicap index out of Seminole Golf Club.

This event marked the first time Woods played publically since his withdrawal at the Genesis Invitational.

Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images

Canadian Mackenzie Hughes and Frank Edwards won the low-gross competition, shooting an 8-under 64 to win by one stroke.

Six teams finished in a tie for second, two of which included Jimmy Dunne and Ed Herlihy, the two PGA Tour Board of Directors members who testified in front of the U.S. Senate last July.

As for the low-net, Erik van Rooyen and John Pinkham prevailed with a 10-under 62. Three teams carded 62s, including Dunne and his partner Ryan Fox of New Zealand. But van Rooyen and Pinkham won after determining the victor based on a scorecard playoff.

Van Rooyen had quite the 24-hour whirlwind.

On Sunday, at the Cognizant Classic, van Rooyen opened his round with a barrage of birdies, making six straight. He made another at the par-4 8th, shooting a 7-under 28 on PGA National’s opening nine. But then a 3-hour, 30-minute weather delay halted play.

Still, unlike other contenders, van Rooyen finished his round, signing for a 7-under 64 to shoot up the leaderboard to 14-under overall.

But he faced a precarious situation. The final round of the Cognizant Classic continued into Monday morning while van Rooyen teed it up at Seminole. If someone at the Cognizant Classic finished at 14-under, tying van Rooyen for the lead, the South African would have been pulled off the golf course, withdrawn from the event, and returned to PGA National for the playoff.

That did not happen, as Austin Eckroat prevailed by three shots. But at least van Rooyen got a consolation prize by winning the low-net portion of the competition.

Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough for more golf coverage. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko as well.