Making an impression on rivals

Tiger Woods impressed a world-class field after a 16-month layoff in Thursday's opening round of the Hero World Challenge, despite double bogeys on two of the last three holes en route to a 1-over 73.

"After that long break and not being able to play in a tournament, to come out like he did was pretty good," said J.B. Holmes, who fired a 64 to grab the first-round lead.

"It's great to have him back. He has been gone a while and he definitely brings a lot more to our sport. Nice to see him."

Eighth-ranked Patrick Reed, who shot 72, played alongside Woods and liked what he saw from the 14-time major champion.

"Unfortunately it wasn't quite the way we both wanted to play, but it was awesome to get him back out here and play golf with him," Reed said.

"The first eight holes he played really well. I was like, 'Wow.' He seemed like he had complete control of what he was trying to do with the ball.

"There were just a couple loose swings here and there. He needs to tighten some things up, too, but it's awesome to have him back. It's good to see him, for the most part, have pretty good control."

Woods said more rounds will help eliminate the errors.

"I just need to keep playing," he said. "My feels need to keep coming back, seeing the shots, feeling the shots, hitting my numbers and getting all that."

"I thought his swing looked good," Reed said.

"When he hit it well, it was really good, but when he mis-hit it, they weren't very good misses.

"At the end of the day, to take off as much time as he did and come back and be in his first competitive round and have the kind of spurts that he had throughout the round, it was good to see."

Agence France-Presse

(China Daily 12/03/2016 page12)