A great start turned into a disappointing opening round for Tiger Woods on day one of the Hero World Challenge. Woods will hope to put in a much better effort in the second round as he continues his comeback from a long-term injury.
Woods played his first round of competitive golf on the PGA Tour on Thursday, after a sustained absence due to a back injury, which had kept him out of action from August 2015.
While he made an encouraging start, going to a quick four-under after eight holes, it all went pear-shaped soon after, with the 14-time major champion eventually signing off the first round with a one-over 73.
Woods will know he needs to get better to compete, starting with the second round on Friday, even if the 40-year-old is just happy to be competing with the best again.
"There's no doubt I felt the adrenaline," Woods said. "It was nice. It felt good to have that adrenaline surging through the system again. It's been a long time.
"To get up there on that first hole and feel it again and then dumb it down to be able to control it and get into my feel where I play my best, that was nice.
"Unfortunately, I made those mistakes, I can clean that up. We've got three more days. Wind's supposed to pump on the weekend and I'll be playing a little bit better."
Woods is second from last at the moment, with only Justin Rose shooting a poorer first round, after the Englishman finished with a 74.
JB Holmes leads the field after a terrific 64, with Hideki Matsuyama a shot behind the American. The likes of Henrik Stenson and Jordan Spieth are not too far behind, while defending champion Bubba Watson could only manage an even par 72.
"It was a great day for me," Holmes said. "Putted well, hit my irons well and my driver well. Pretty much all around solid day and got a good score out of it, so it was a lot of fun," he said.
"Missed a couple putts I felt like I could have made, but I also made a couple putts of some length, so it was just a really good, solid day. It was not necessarily an easy 64, but it was stress-free because I hit a lot of good shots."
Where to Watch Live
Tiger Woods and Justin Rose will start the second round at 11.12am local time (4.12pm GMT, 9.42pm IST). Live Streaming and TV information is below.
India: No live coverage.
USA: TV: Golf Channel. Live Streaming: Golf Channel Live.
UK: TV: Sky Sports 4. Live Streaming: Sky Go.
Radio: PGA Tour Radio.
