Much-anticipated return goes about as good as could be expected

As Tiger Woods' tee shot on the first hole gently faded through the increasingly cool and windy air on Thursday, Brian Wacker says, so did everything that happened the last five months. From that point on, Woods looked very much like the Tiger of old.

By Brian Wacker, PGATOUR.COM Site Producer

AUGUSTA, Ga. -- The new Tiger Woods looked a lot like the old one Thursday at Augusta National, where egg salad sandwiches are still $1.50 and Woods is still revered and cheered.

“It felt like [nothing changed],” said Woods, who returned to golf at the Masters after a fifth-month hiatus following his Nov. 27 car accident and subsequent admission to a series of extramarital affairs.

Nothing had, not inside the green gates of golf’s most exclusive club.

The reception for Woods was “incredible,” as he called it. From the time he went to the putting green, then the driving range, then back to the putting green and eventually to the first tee, where the gallery was 35 and 40 deep when he arrived.

Asked what Thursday meant, Woods, who shot a 4-under 68 in his first competitive round since last year’s JBWere Masters, responded by saying, “It meant that I’m two shots off the lead. That’s what it means. I’m here to play a golf tournament.”

Teeing off first in a group that included K.J. Choi and Matt Kuchar, Woods striped his tee shot. As the ball gently faded through the increasingly cool and windy air, so did everything that has happened the last five months.

Woods split the fairway, as did Choi and Kuchar, much to the delight of the thousands of patrons surrounding every inch of the 445-yard first hole. As the three men moved forward, the gallery flowed with them, like a huge flock of migrating birds.

“It was neat to have a front seat for Tiger’s welcome back,” Kuchar said. “He had everybody wishing him well.

“I didn’t know what to expect from a golf standpoint. It was one of those days you weren’t sure if there was going to be so much extra going on that nobody played great.”

All three men did play well, though, with Woods breaking 70 in the first round of the Masters for the first time in his 13-year career. Kuchar and Choi did, too, shooting 69 and 67, respectively, with the day's largest gallery intently watching every movement.

“It helps a thousand times over that it was here at Augusta National,” Kuchar said. “The fans are respectful and great. There weren’t distractions. Everyone was just excited to see Tiger back.”

That included Kuchar, who said the interaction between he and Woods was as if “nothing had changed.”

“What happened off the field is none of my business,” Kuchar said. “We just conducted ourselves as if it was a regular round of golf.”

On a red-letter day of scoring, it didn’t take long for Woods to put his name on the first page of the leaderboard. He birdied the par-4 third hole before being slowed momentarily by a bogey on the par-4 seventh.

Then the roars came: An eagle on the par-5 eighth, a birdie on the par-4 ninth. Woods made the turn in 3-under 33, playing a game with which we are familiar.

Woods even tossed a club, letting one of his irons hit the ground before spinning around in disgust on a badly pulled second shot at No. 14. Other than that, though, Woods’ round went without incident.

“I got into the flow of the round early,” Woods said. “I got into the rhythm of just playing and hitting shots and thinking my way around the golf course.”

And thanking his way around it, too. Several times, Woods acknowledged the crowd by tipping his cap or waving his hand. Maybe that was a little different.

Woods made two more bogeys on the back nine, but he also made his second eagle -- the first time he’d made two eagles in the same round at Augusta National -- before closing with four straight pars.

“There were no glaring weaknesses,” Kuchar said. “Every time he was in trouble, his recovery shots were amazing; his feel around the greens; it was just a standard round of golf.”

About the only thing that did seem out of place was an airplane flying a derogatory banner over the course. Neither Woods nor Kuchar noticed -- it was all about the golf.

“Very pleased,” said Woods when asked how he would assess his play. “I hit the ball well all day. I just didn’t make a lot of putts. If I putted well today, it could have been a really special round.”

To those at Augusta National, it was.