Tiger Woods helped a young fan cross off a bucket-list wish following her heart transplant
- Tiger Woods returned to the PGA Tour at the Genesis Invitational.
- Woods didn't win, but he made one dream come true for a young fan.
Tiger Woods didn't win in his return to the PGA Tour, but he helped one young fan check an item off her bucket list ... literally.
Woods returned to competitive golf at the Genesis Invitational, a tournament he hosts in Los Angeles. It was his first tournament since The Open in July and his first non-major event since a car accident at this tournament nearly ended his career in 2021.
While Woods showed flashes of his old self with the golf clubs, his best moment came with a marker.
Near the 17th green, 9-year-old Madelyn Quinn held up a sign with her bucket list. On the list was "Get heart transplant," which was already checked, followed by "Meet Tiger Woods" and "Play Augusta," the home of the Masters.
While Woods was waiting for his playing partners to finish the hole, he walked over to the sign with a marker, checked off the box next to his name, and gave her a signed glove. Later, as Woods left the area, he gave Madelyn a high-five.
Nick Piastowski of Golf.com caught up with Madelyn and talked to her about the moment, which was initiated by Woods' caddie, Joe LaCava.
"So while he was putting, the caddie looked over at my sign, and then when Tiger finished the hole, Tiger came close to his caddie, and the caddie whispered something to Tiger like, 'Look behind you, I think there's a girl with a really nice poster,'" Madelyn told Piastowski. "And Tiger looked behind for a few seconds and stared at it and then got a Sharpie out from his pocket and started signing his glove ... My heart started pounding. I was getting the chills. I'm like, Is this a dream, is this real? This couldn't be happening right now. I was just staring at him, and I was speechless. I didn't know what to say."
Madelyn had a heart transplant at age 1 and has endured several other heart surgeries. Now she is a pretty good golfer in her own right. The daughter of a former teaching pro, she plays daily and plays nine holes in 38 to 40 strokes.
As for Woods, he made the cut but finished tied for 45th at 1-under par, 16 strokes behind the winner, Jon Rahm.
The tournament also drew some criticisms of Woods for a little display of casual misogyny in the form of a practical joke.
During the tournament's opening round, Woods was playing with his good friend, Justin Thomas. After out-driving his much-younger rival, Woods was caught handing Thomas a tampon.
Woods later apologized for the prank.
"It was supposed to be all fun and games, and obviously, it hasn't turned out that way," Woods said in a press conference. "If I offended anybody, it was not the case, it was just friends having fun. As I said, if I offended anybody in any way, shape, or form, I'm sorry. It was not intended to be that way. It was just we play pranks on one another all the time, and virally I think this did not come across that way, but between us, it was – it's different."