Tiger's back, and his return to golf was... not bad

There was a monster crowd following Tiger Woods' every shot as he made his way around a golf course in a USPGA event for the first time in a year, and there was plenty to keep them excited.

Woods fell foul of some expected rust, particularly off the tee, but his short game and touch around the green was often vintage Tiger, helping him fight back late to card an even-par 72.

And he came within inches of bringing the house down on the par-3 16th, dropping his tee shot just a hair away from the cup.

"It felt good, looked good, and then we were listening for some noise," Woods said of the near miss.

Woods, who has won eight times at Torrey Pines including the 2008 US Open, is playing his first full-field tournament in 11 months after undergoing spinal fusion surgery.

Poor tee shots led to an opening-hole bogey before dropping another shot at the fifth, but the 42-year-old bounced back with a birdie at the sixth.

The 79-time winner on the US Tour mixed two birdies on the back side with a sloppy bogey at the par-5 13th.

Woods' short game has been the highlight, salvaging several pars from the thick rough.

"It was fun to compete again. It was fun to be out there," Woods said.

"It's hard to make a lot of birdies when you're not giving yourself any looks, and I didn't do that today," Woods said.

"Tomorrow, hopefully, I'll drive a little better, get my irons obviously a lot closer and we get the better of the two greens tomorrow. So we'll see what happens."

ABC/AAP

 

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