Tiger Woods admitted he was nervous to return to competitive action as the 15-time Major winner ended his first official PGA Tour start in ten months with a one over par 72 at the Genesis Invitational.
The former World No.1, who spent the majority of last year recovering from surgery on his right ankle, got off to a fast start at Riviera Country Club, making birdie at the first which was greeted with rapturous applause from the packed galleries in Los Angeles.
The two-time Dubai Desert Classic champion went on to card a further four birdies, but they were cancelled out by six blemishes on the scorecard, with the last of those coming after an unbelievable shank on the 18th.
“A lot of good and a lot of indifferent,” said Woods after his round.
“It was one or the other. I don't know how many pars I had, wasn't many. I was either making birdies or bogeys and just never really got anything consistent going today.
“I struggled with the speed of the greens. I couldn't believe how fast they were today even though I made a couple. I ran a bunch by the hole today, it was very stressful. But the golf course is in such perfect shape. Considering the amount of rain they've gotten, to get the golf course this fast is pretty impressive.”
Despite being one of the most seasoned professionals in the game, with a career spanning 27 years that has seen him win an astonishing 82 PGA Tour titles, Woods revealed even he still gets first tee jitters.
“Definitely nervous,” said Woods, who sits in a share of 49th.
“I care about how I play and certainly I was feeling the nerves starting out. I got off to a good start birdieing the first and getting right back up on the next two holes and made a couple more birdies.
“It was one of those days, just never really got anything consistently going and hopefully tomorrow I can clean it up.”
Patrick Cantlay leads the way at the top of the leaderboard after mixing eight birdies with one bogey to sign for a 64, with Jason Day, Cameron Davis and Luke List one stroke behind.
