Tiger impresses in Masters comeback | Woods: I'm where I need to be

Tiger Woods marked his first competitive start in over 16 months with an eventful opening-round 71 on his long-awaited return to action at The Masters.

Woods was making his first appearance in a top-level event since playing at Augusta National in November 2020, with this week's event an eagerly anticipated comeback after suffering career-threatening injuries in a serious car crash last February.

The 15-time major champion showed flashes of his brilliant best as he mixed three birdies with two bogeys on the opening day, delayed by 30 minutes due to bad weather, leaving Woods within three strokes behind early clubhouse leader Cameron Smith.

"I had a terrible warm-up session," Woods admitted. "I hit it awful. I forgot whatever I did on the range and just go ahead and play shot for shot, hit the ball in the correct spot, commit to what I'm doing, leave myself in the right angles, hopefully make a few putts, and let's get after this thing.

"Yeah, I was able to do that. I was able to finish up in the red. I'm only three back. I'm right where I need to be."

Woods recovered from a wide opening drive and finishing short of the green with his approach to hole a 10-footer to save par at the first, with the five-time Masters champion missing an outside birdie look from 20 feet at the par-five next and two-putting from the fringe for a par at the third.

The 46-year-old continued his run of pars at the fourth and the next, where his 15-foot birdie attempt span out at the last moment, before firing his tee shot to tap-in range at the par-three next to move under par for his round.

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