Woods produces mixed results in first round back

The former World No 1 was making his comeback after 15 months on the sidelines due to multiple back surgeries.

Any mental demons in this area seemed to have been eradicated over the first eight holes, noticeably with excellent chip shots on third and fourth holes, but there was a duffed chip at the ninth and two overhit bunker shots on the 14th.

The 14-time major championship victor briefly tied for the lead after eight holes before recording two bogeys on par 5s and a double-bogey at the par-4 16th to finish at 1-over-par 73.

Tiger Woods is now ranked as 879th in the world, but the 14-time major champion and victor of 79 PGA Tour titles, looks very confident ahead of returning to the golf course.

Varner, who tied for second place previous year, said it was a good way to get momentum going.

“I hit a really good drive and then I hammered a 3-wood and got it on the green”, Holmes said. “I was able to hit all the shots I needed to hit”. I just made some really silly mistakes, mistakes I don’t normally make, but I haven’t played in a while. In fact, I can make a case he was the most dominant performer in any sport.

“That’s something for me when I’ve taken layoffs, and taken breaks, that’s been hard because I can not find the feel of the round”.

“I was pleased with how quickly I fell into the competitive flow of things, how I got used to the feel of the round”. “I haven’t had adrenaline in my system in a while and having that surge of adrenaline through my system, how much further is this ball going to be going?”

This is golf’s offseason and it’s a time to mix up formats and deviate from the normal week-to-week grind we get during the regular season.

After he made the turn in 3-under par, the breeze picked up and Woods cooled off.

“Yes, I’m nervous”, said Woods, “I’m nervous for every tournament I play in, whether it’s after a layoff, or six in a row, or a major”.

Woods completed a Tiger Slam of four major wins in a row at the 2001 Masters, his epic shotmaking and flashy fist-pumping style luring more fans to golf and paving the way for him to become an iconic pitchman and the world’s top-paid athlete.

Woods last played in August 2015, tying for 10th at the Wyndham Championship.

Woods hit a version of his old stinger shot and saw the ball cut through the wind and come to rest behind the hole, about 10 feet away. On No. 11, he was forced to take a drop from an unplayable lie and bogeyed the hole.

“A quick start and a quick finish adds up to a good score”, said Scott, who won the Australian PGA Championship in 2013 and was runner-up the following year after a marathon playoff with Greg Chalmers.

“I thought if I only have a few shots, it’s good enough to get it around”.

Since Woods last played competitively, Nike has stopped manufacturing golf equipment, meaning another change for the 14-time major victor. Sometimes I am at home, tinkering around with my buddies, just saying I don’t care what’s going on, but I care. Par 3s will be pushed back more than they were. And again when he hooked his drive on the final hole into the adjacent water hazard, then slammed the driver into the ground before carding his second double-bogey in three holes.