Tiger Woods upbeat after roller-coaster return to competition

He opened with a 73 at the Australian Open in Sydney last month and finished the tournament six shots behind Jordan Spieth, who won in a playoff.

Woods first had to miss tournaments because of injury going into the 2003 season.

For many observers, though, this week is not about winning as much as getting an inkling as to whether Woods has it in him to regain the magic that captivated the sports world for the best part of two decades.

It seems unlikely he can surpass Nicklaus, but the American told the BBC that his record is far from “safe”, adding that Woods’ issues were more mental than anything else.

At the World Cup of Golf last weekend in Melbourne, Scott and Australian teammate Marc Leishman carded a 74 in an opening round that contained just one birdie.

He won by seven shots.

“I can’t wait. I’m really excited for him, I’m excited for the game of golf to have Tiger back, and to have that honor to be able to play with him in his first competitive round back in 16 months, it’s going to be awesome”.

“How quickly I fell into the competitive mode and I felt the feel of the round”, Woods said when asked what he was most pleased about.

After serving as an assistant captain for the U.S. Woods slammed his driver in disgust and made another double. Woods is playing for the first time in 465 days. He was brilliant Thursday, and while a talented field led by Matsuyama, Dustin Johnson, Henrik Stenson, Matt Kuchar and Louis Oosthuizen is breathing down his neck, Holmes put himself in the running to take home a victory in the Bahamas. And rightfully so after a layoff of 466 days and two surgeries to his back. Doctors discovered two stress fractures in his left tibia and he was advised to rest for six weeks.

Tiger Woods teed it up in competition for the first time since the 2015 Wyndham Championship. He chose to end a five-month break at the Masters, under the greatest scrutiny.

But he flubbed a pitch on the par-5 ninth and made bogey.

Woods was cleaning Albany’s clock the first eight holes, with his birdies coming from two feet on the third, five feet on the sixth, three feet on the seventh and three feet on the eighth. He opened with a 68 and tied for 37th.

GOLD COAST, Australia – Australians Andrew Dodt, Harold Varner and Ashley Hall shared the Australian PGA Championship lead today at 7-under 64 after the rain-delayed first round.

Woods has tested several clubs during his recovery and likes where he’s at as he starts yet another comeback, having struggled after past recoveries from knee, back and leg injuries.

Tiger Woods felt “silly mistakes” prevented him from making a return to remember in the opening round of the Hero World Challenge.

The shots and the score don’t count until Thursday at the Hero World Challenge with an 18-man field, small but strong. The 2015 FedEx Cup victor, Jordan Spieth, is now tied for seventh place with Rickie Fowler.

World top-10 rivals to Tiger Woods said Wednesday they expect the 14-time major victor needs time and patience before there’s any chance he regains the form that made him a legend. He returned at the Masters, his chipping was not a major problem, and he tied for 17th.

Then he had to claw his way around to stay in the tournament.