SAN DIEGO -- A round of 72 is typically nothing to get excited about for Tiger Woods. But considering he's rarely had a scorecard in his hand to record anything of significance over the past two and a half years, even he would deem his opening-round effort Thursday at the Farmers Insurance Open a success.
Playing his first official tournament in a year and making just his fifth worldwide start in the past 14 months, Woods made three birdies and three bogeys on the South course at Torrey Pines -- eight shots behind leader Tony Finau but in position to make the 36-hole cut.
Considering he has not done that in an official event since the 2015 Wyndam Championship, that would be a solid accomplishment as he attempts to return from his fourth back surgery, a spinal fusion he had in April.
"It was fun; fun to be able to compete again,'' Woods said. "It was to be out there. ... I was probably a little bit rusty.''
Woods, 42, is tied for 84th place. The top 70 players and ties make the cut and advance to the weekend. He will play the North course on Friday, which played just slightly easier than the South in the opening round.
The highlight was a near ace at the par-3 16th, a 6-iron shot from 189 yards that rolled up just short of the hole and stopped 8 inches away for a tap-in birdie, his third of the day.
That got Woods back to even par for the day after he was 2 over through five holes.
