Tiger Woods felt “sore everywhere” in his comeback as debutant Brian Harman and Tony Finau shared the joint lead after day one of the Hero World Challenge here.
In his first competitive round after withdrawing from the Masters in April, Woods looked rusty and walked the 18 holes with a slight limp. His performance was up and down on Thursday as he ended with a 3-over 75 for the 18th position in the 20-man field.
The majority of spectators at the Albany expectedly tracked the 47-year-old through the day after he teed up alongside Justin Thomas.
Woods seemed to tire and struggle in the closing stages, but still smiled and hugged Thomas at the end of the 18 holes in conditions that were not very easy.
Woods was at 1-under after the 14th hole but a double bogey on 15th and bogeys on 16th and 17th pushed him down in the field.
He closed with a birdie try from 25 feet and then tapped for par. Woods gave away four shots in the span of three holes, starting from the 15th. A wayward left tee shot landed under a large clump of bushes. He stabbed at it and moved it only a foot and lost a shot.
He even toyed with the idea of a left-handed attempt but then punched it backwards into the fairway.
The third shot, a 3-wood, came short and an average pitch left him a 12-foot bogey putt, which he missed for a double-bogey. From 1-under he went to 1-over.
On 16, he missed the green in regulation and missed a 20-footer for par and on the Par-3 17th, he found the green, but was 50-plus feet away. He went six feet past and missed the comeback putt.
Woods did not hide his frustration through the day and admitted to “soreness everywhere” afterwards.
“My leg, my back, my neck. Just from playing, hitting shots and trying to hold off shots. It’s just different at game speed, too,” he said.
“I’m sore, there’s no doubt about that. We’ve got some work to do tonight. Tomorrow (we) get back in the gym and activate and get ready for it.