Tiger Woods showed moments of brilliance and rustiness during his first round at the Hero World Challenge, shooting a 75.
The legendary American is making his first competitive appearance since the Masters in April having been advised to have his ankle fused, a consequence of arthritis in the surgically-repaired area after a car crash.
Woods acknowledged before the tournament in the Bahamas that he was curious about how he may perform, and a booming drive with his opening tee shot set the wheels in motions for an encouraging round in breezy conditions.
Four birdies were recorded in the opening 14 holes, a 48-foot putt at the par-five 11th hole being the highlight, but that level of class was combined with a number of mistakes.
Bogeys followed his birdies on the front nine, while a double bogey at the par-five 15th put him over par for the first time in his round.
We've seen this before.@TigerWoods couldn't help but smile after a long birdie. pic.twitter.com/dX2aNbdQHh
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) November 30, 2023
That was followed by further dropped shots on 16 and 17 before Woods was able to close with a morale-boosting par, leaving him down in 18th place in the 20-player field.
Eight shots separate Woods from the top of the leaderboard, with that position held by Brian Harman and Tony Finau with world number one Scottie Scheffler among those who are two adrift.
Darren Plant
