Tiger tracker: Woods returns to the Tour at Torrey Pines, finishes round at four over

Tiger Woods returned to competitive golf at 10:40 a.m. today on the South course at Torrey Pines Golf Course in San Diego.

Woods is one of the most captivating figures in the golf world, and one of its winningest, with 14 major titles from 1997 to 2008, though he hasn’t won at the professional level since 2013.

No doubt he expected a better round but he had particular trouble staying in the fairway. He hit only four of 14 fairways. What also did him in was a six-hole stretch (Nos. 12 to 17) where he was six-over par.

He finished with three birdies, nine pars, five bogeys and one double bogey.

Here is a hole-by-hole recap from Woods’ first competitive round in more than 17 months.

Holes left to be played (South course)

Hole 1: Par 4 | 450 yards

Woods’ return to the Tour after 17 months could have started better. He pushed his tee shot to the heavy right rough at a distance of 283 yards leaving him 151 yards to the pin. His second shot was right of the green, leaving him a flop shot that he put within about 10 feet. The problem: above the hole. His putt stayed left and Woods open with a bogey. Woods +1

Hole 2: Par 4 | 389 yards

Once again, Woods has trouble off the tee, pushing the ball into the first cut of rough leaving 134 yards to the hole. His second shot landed in a greenside bunker. His third shot was eight feet from the hole and Woods follows with a confidence building par. Woods +1

Hole 3: Par 3 | 200 yards

Woods has honors for the first time in this return as Dustin Johnson and Jason Day bogied the second hole. However, Woods didn’t dazzle, coming up about 46 feet short of the hole. His putt came up about four feet short leaving him to scramble for par for the third straight hole. He makes it again. Woods +1

Hole 4: Par 4 | 488 yards

Woods finally hits a fairway, the right side, with a 282 yard drive, leaving him 195 yards to the hole. His second shot is a little right hitting the fringe before trickling onto the green. It leaves him about 45 feet to the hole. Woods gave the ball a good roll, leaving him about a four footer for the par. Once again, he makes it. Woods +1

Hole 5: Par 4 | 454 yards

Woods hits his best drive so far, 292 yards to the left side of the fairway. But his second shot was terrible landing well right of the trap, leaving him 65 feet to the hole. It brought the first club slam of the day. He recovered with a nice shot that landed on the fringe, then released and rolled to within two feet. His best shot of the day. Woods +1

Hole 6: Par 5 | 560 yards

Woods hit a decent tee shot 280 yards to the left side of the fairway. Undoubtedly, he was trying to hit his second shot to the front of the green and have it hop onto the putting surface. Instead, he missed badly right and was forced to hit from the tall rough about 45 yards from the hole. His third shot was decent finishing 16 feet past he hole. His putt for birdie slid by on the left but he got the par. Woods +1

Hole 7: Par 4 | 462 yards

Woods hit his longest drive of the day, 304 yards to the right side of the fairway. Once again, he had trouble hitting the green landing his second shot 45 feet away. But, he made a nice recovery putting his third shot to two feet and sank the putt for par. Woods +1

Hole 8: Par 3 | 176 yards

Another missed green for Woods. He put his tee shot about 12 feet off the green. His chip came out a little hot before checking up leaving him a eighth-foot putt for par. He came out reading the break correctly to record his seventh straight par. Woods +1

Hole 9: Par 5 | 614 yards

Once again, Woods couldn’t hit the fairway with his drive around 300 yards. He landed in the heavy rough and just tried to advance the ball out, which he did leaving him 124 yards to the hole. He put his third shot to about 19 feet then missed the putt right and long but made the comebacker for another par. Woods +1

Hole 10: Par 4 | 416 yards

This time Woods missed the fairway to the left and then with 136 yards to the hole put his second shot to about 10 feet. It left him with his first reasonable birdie possibility and he took complete advantage. Considering how many fairways and greens he has missed, even par is not so bad. Woods even

Hole 11: Par 3 | 221 yards

Is Woods gaining momentum? He struck a four-iron on this hole to a little more than 10 feet. At his peak, that distance was an automatic to Woods. He struck it near perfect with the ball creeping in on the right side of the cup. Two birdies in a row. Woods -1

Hole 12: Par 4 | 504 yards

The birdie (mini-)binge ended here when Woods, once again, badly missed the fairway. He tried hitting a five wood for his second shot but came up about 100 yards short and in a lesser cut of rough. His next shot finished about 14 feet from the cup. His putt looked like it had a chance as Woods played the right to left break but the ball just squeezed past the hole for his second bogey of the day. Woods even

Hole 13: Par 5 | 614 yards

Another missed fairway forcing him to lay up on his second shot on this par five. Still 118 yards short and still in the rough, Woods put his third shot 49 feet from the cup. It must have looked more like 41 feet to Woods as he came up eight feet short. His par putt slid past the hole on the right and he had his second straight bogey. Woods +1

Hole 14: Par 4 | 437 yards

Things are starting to unravel for Woods. His tee shot landed in the left rough about 210 yards short of the hole. On his second shot, he ended up on the right side of the fairway, about 93 feet from the cup, just short of a trap. His third shot checked a little too hard leaving him a 15-foot putt for par. He made a good run at it but the ball had too much pace and the putt didn’t stay down. Another bogey. Woods +2

Hole 15: Par 4 | 478 yards

This hole started with a wild left hook that was lost in a designated hazard on the wrong side of a fence resulting in a penalty stroke. His drop left him with an obstructed view (trees) to the green and he ended up 40 yards short on what was counted as his third shot. Still in heavy grass, Woods’ approach to the green was about 22 feet short. Two putts later he had double bogey. Woods +4

Hole 16: Par 3 | 223 yards

Woods’ game stabilized on this par three, He hit a low three iron about 38 feet below the pin. He had a nice putt that ended up a foot to the left and he made the easy par putt. Woods +4

Hole 17: Par 4 | 442 yards

Heading toward his highest opening round ever (besting the 2015 73 he shot at Waste Management in Phoenix), Woods put his first shot in the right rough and his second in a trap short of the green. He hit a nice shot from the sand to about five feet. Should have been a good save, but it wasn’t. He missed the putt. Woods +5

Hole 18: Par 5 | 570 yards

Woods’ first shot on the final hole ended up in the right rough, so he elected to lay up on his second shot to about 140 yards from the hole. Woods then hit perhaps his best approach past the hole, which backed up to within nine feet of the cup. Woods finished the round in style with a birdie. But, he’ll need a great round on Friday to make the cut. Based on first-round scores, he’ll need to be at even par, or likely better, after the second round to make the cut. Woods +4

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