Tiger Woods talks trash with Josh Allen before talking PGA Tour, LIV negotiations | D'Angelo

PACIFIC PALISADES, Calif. — Tiger Woods started his warm-up at Riviera Country Club on the putting green. Then, after gingerly navigating the 52 steps down a steep hill, and shuffling the rest of the way down the concrete and grassy paths, he loosened up on the range.

That was followed by a few more putts, where he greeted one of his playing partners in Wednesday's Genesis Invitational pro-am, Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen, who typically is able to start working on his golf game each year in mid-January.

Tiger was first up on the par-5, 503-yard first hole. He striped his tee shot down the middle, about 300 yards, knocked his approach shot to about 15 feet and made the eagle putt.

Allen's start was almost as impressive, despite landing his drive deep in the left rough. But his birdie was overshadowed by his playing partner's eagle.

"I was kind of mad because I birdied it," Allen said. "And he just had to show me up and eagle me."

Still, that did not diminish the experience that was put together by Tiger's team, who contacted Allen to see whether he'd like to play with Tiger.

That was not a difficult decision.

"If it's not the greatest day in my life, I don't know what is," said the man who can say that only because he has not won a Super Bowl.

Long road back since ankle surgery

While Allen was in awe, Tiger had a much greater purpose on Wednesday. He has not played an official PGA Tour event since withdrawing from last April's Masters and having his right ankle fused two weeks later, surgery related to the serious car accident that occurred after this event three years ago.

Since then, Tiger has played in what he calls "two soft events," the Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas and the PNC Championship in Orlando in which he played with his son, Charlie.

"Trying to get used to the new feels of the body," said the 48-year-old who lives on Jupiter Island. "That's always the challenge. And the challenges of trying to get tour-ready, that's been what we've been trying to do the last couple weeks and trying be sure I'm physically fit and ready to play this event."

Tiger is one of 70 players in this Signature Event field that will be cut to 50 players and those within 10 strokes of the lead after 36 holes. He tees off Thursday at 12:25 p.m. with playing partners Justin Thomas, of Tequesta, and Gary Woodland, of Delray Beach.

While he has played in this event 15 times, attended as a 9-year-old and played in his first PGA Tour event, he has never won.

And even for a man with 15 major championships, 82 PGA Tour event wins and who has hoisted a trophy in 12 countries, that is frustrating. And even more so now that he is the host.

"For some reason, I just haven't put it together at this event other than one time with a chance," he said. "For some reason, it just hasn't happened."

One of those for whom it has happened is Max Homa, who calls himself a "double defending" champion. Homa won in 2022, and last year's winner, Jon Rahm, is ineligible to play this year since signing his legacy away to LIV Golf.

Homa, 33, is happy to cede some of that spotlight to a man he, and nearly every golfer of his generation, admired and emulated.

"Every event's better when Tiger is here," Homa said. "It's pretty amazing what he brings to an event with his presence on the golf course. You want to see him play, all the fans want to see him play. It just makes the event feel a bit bigger.

"Something about that when he's around. You have less people watching you play golf, but there are more people watching golf, which is cool."

Tiger has not been around very often, having played just five events, and being forced to withdraw from two of those, since his terrifying accident in 2021. He calls it a "trick" trying to get prepared for competitive golf without being able to practice as much and do the things that he could do during his prime.

But that does not mean Tiger has not been active in using his platform to help the game through its most uncertain and chaotic time. He was added to the PGA Tour Policy Board during a tumultuous summer following the stunning announcement that the tour was working on a deal with LIV Golf.

More: Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy TGL virtual golf league delayed one year after roof collapse

Now, he's heavily involved in the mysterious negotiations between the tour and Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, which finances LIV Golf, a deal that Tiger believed would be completed six weeks ago.

While Tiger says the negotiations are "ongoing," (what else can he say?) he made it clear the tour is in a much better spot after a $3 billion investment deal with Strategic Sports Group, a consortium of rich and powerful professional sports team owners.

"Ultimately, we would like to have PIF be a part of our tour and a part of our product," Tiger said. "Financially, we don't right now, and the monies that they have come to the table with and what we initially had agreed to in the framework agreement, those are all the same numbers (the tour got from the SSG)."

This is another way of saying: "We do not need the Saudi blood money any longer."

Tiger continued: "Anything beyond this is going to be obviously over and above. We're in a position right now, hopefully we can make our product better in the short term and long term."

Whether that is with or without LIV becoming part of the tour remains to be seen. But what concerns Tiger now is getting his game tournament-ready for his desired schedule of playing one event a month.

And that starts with more rounds. Even rounds with All-Pro quarterbacks.

"We just had a bunch of fun talking trash, telling stories," Tiger said, before dishing on Allen's golf game.

"Considering what he does for a living and the pounding that he takes on the body, the fact that he's been able to play this game, you can see the enjoyment that he has and the addiction that he has for the game of golf," Tiger said. "He asked unbelievable questions today about how he can get better that only athletes really can ask those type of questions.

"That's what's neat about being able to play with athletes, see how their brain works."

Tiger's brain is fine. It's his body from the neck down that he does not know how it will react each time he steps on the course.

Tom D'Angelo is a sports columnist and reporter at The Palm Beach Post. He can be reached at tdangelo@pbpost.com. Follow him on social media @tomdangelo44.

Genesis Invitational

Through Sunday

Riviera Country Club, Pacific Palisades, Calif.

TV: Thursday: 7:30 a.m., ESPN+; 1 p.m., GOLF; Friday: 7:30 a.m., ESPN+; 1 p.m., GOLF; Saturday: 7 a.m., ESPN+; 10 a.m., GOLF; noon, GOLF; Sunday: 6:30 a.m., ESPN+; 10 a.m., GOLF; noon, CBS

2023 champ: Jon Rahm

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Tiger Woods hints PGA Tour does not need LIV Golf's money after SSG deal