Woods brings back big crowds big cheers with a 72
Tiger Woods
SAN DIEGO (AP)  â Tiger Woods  brought big crowds back to golf  and  he  even produced a few big roars.
In  his  first PGA Tour event in a year because of a fourth back surgery   Woods  mixed a few mistakes with a few shots that looked familiar Thursday on  his  way to an even-par 72 in the opening round of the Farmers Insurance Open.
âIt was fun to compete again. It was fun to be out there â  Woods  said.
But  he  was seven shots behind Tony Finau  who led with a 65 on the North Course at Torrey Pines  and  Woods  will play that course on Friday on the bubble to make the cut. With virtually no wind on a day for reasonable scoring   he  was tied for 84th.
 Woods  was steady on the South Course  and at times spectacular.
 His  three birdie putts were from a combined 30 inches. The longest of  his  birdie putt was from just inside 2 feet on No. 10 that got  him  back to even par for the round.  He  was one rotation away from making a long eagle putt on the par-5 sixth.
What really made the gallery delirious was  his  6-iron on par-3 16th hole that rolled toward the hole and broke just in front of the cup  settling 8 inches away. With the sun starting to set behind the Pacific  it was hard for  him  to see.
âIt felt good  looked good  and then we were listening for some noise â  Woods  said.
But  he  needed those three birdies to offset  his  mistakes  and the sobering part of  his  return is that  Woods  didnât make a putt longer than 4 feet. That was on the second hole  when  his  approach from the bunker landed 6 feet behind the hole and went over the back into light rough.
 He  also gave away a shot on the par-5 13th  when  he  laid up from the rough and hit a wedge that drifted right and went into the bunker.  He  blasted that out to 3 feet  which was the hard part. And then  he  missed the short par putt .
 Woods  made  his  other two bogeys from greenside bunkers  both times missing 12-foot putts.
 He  played the par 5s in even par  and didnât give  himself  any other birdie chances inside 15 feet.
âItâs hard to make a lot of birdies when youâre not giving yourself any looks  and I didnât do that today â  Woods  said. âTomorrow  hopefully  Iâll drive a little better  get my irons obviously a lot closer and we get the better of the two greens tomorrow. So weâll see what happens.â
Regardless of the score   Woods  looked as though heâs back for the long haul. The fusion surgery eliminated the pain. And while he wasnât sharp   Woods  hit the ball plenty far and saw at least a little bit of golf that made him such a dominant figure.
The South Course  which hosted the 2008 U.S. Open that  Woods  won  typically is far stronger than the North at Torrey Pines. Thatâs no longer the case with the North getting a makeover two years ago  with bent greens that are firm this week and narrower fairways.
SAN DIEGO (AP)   [TGT] brought big crowds back to golf  and   [TGT]   even produced a few big roars.
In   [TGT]   first PGA Tour event in a year because of a fourth back surgery   Woods  mixed a few mistakes with a few shots that looked familiar Thursday on   [TGT]   way to an even-par 72 in the opening round of the Farmers Insurance Open.
âIt was fun to compete again. It was fun to be out there â  Woods  said.
But   [TGT]   was seven shots behind Tony Finau  who led with a 65 on the North Course at Torrey Pines  and  Woods  will play that course on Friday on the bubble to make the cut. With virtually no wind on a day for reasonable scoring   he  was tied for 84th.
 Woods  was steady on the South Course  and at times spectacular.
 His  three birdie putts were from a combined 30 inches. The longest of  his  birdie putt was from just inside 2 feet on No. 10 that got  him  back to even par for the round.  He  was one rotation away from making a long eagle putt on the par-5 sixth.
What really made the gallery delirious was  his  6-iron on par-3 16th hole that rolled toward the hole and broke just in front of the cup  settling 8 inches away. With the sun starting to set behind the Pacific  it was hard for  him  to see.
âIt felt good  looked good  and then we were listening for some noise â  Woods  said.
But  he  needed those three birdies to offset  his  mistakes  and the sobering part of  his  return is that  Woods  didnât make a putt longer than 4 feet. That was on the second hole  when  his  approach from the bunker landed 6 feet behind the hole and went over the back into light rough.
 He  also gave away a shot on the par-5 13th  when  he  laid up from the rough and hit a wedge that drifted right and went into the bunker.  He  blasted that out to 3 feet  which was the hard part. And then  he  missed the short par putt .
 Woods  made  his  other two bogeys from greenside bunkers  both times missing 12-foot putts.
 He  played the par 5s in even par  and didnât give  himself  any other birdie chances inside 15 feet.
âItâs hard to make a lot of birdies when youâre not giving yourself any looks  and I didnât do that today â  Woods  said. âTomorrow  hopefully  Iâll drive a little better  get my irons obviously a lot closer and we get the better of the two greens tomorrow. So weâll see what happens.â
Regardless of the score   Woods  looked as though heâs back for the long haul. The fusion surgery eliminated the pain. And while he wasnât sharp   Woods  hit the ball plenty far and saw at least a little bit of golf that made him such a dominant figure.
The South Course  which hosted the 2008 U.S. Open that  Woods  won  typically is far stronger than the North at Torrey Pines. Thatâs no longer the case with the North getting a makeover two years ago  with bent greens that are firm this week and narrower fairways.