Hole-by-hole breakdown of Tiger's 1-under 71 in Round 1

One of the greatest comebacks in golf history got underway Thursday as Tiger Woods teed off at the Masters just 14 months after a horrific car crash.

Aside from the PNC Championship exhibition alongside son Charlie, the five-time major champion hadn't played a competitive round since the fall Masters in November 2020.

Here's the full breakdown from Woods' 1-under 71 that currently sits just three shots off the lead at Augusta.

First nine

No. 1

An incredible gathering was on hand for Woods' first shot in an official event since the 2020 fall Masters. With patrons lined up at least 10 deep, Woods' tee shot went down the right side, coming up just shy of the fairway bunker. After his approach spun back off the green, Woods pitched his ball to 10 feet and poured in the par putt to open his round with a four. Score through 1: Even

No. 2

Woods opted for a 3-wood off the tee on the dogleg par 5 and found the fairway with a solid strike. After setting himself up with a 50-yard pitch for his third, the 46-year-old came up just short and narrowly missed his 16-footer for birdie. A comfortable par maintained a safe start at Augusta. Score through 2: Even

No. 3

Once again Woods opted for less than driver off the tee to set up a comfortable approach on the short par 4. A gust of wind kept the ball on the fringe, some feet below the hole for birdie. While his putt would fall short, another ho-hum par continued the comfortable start. Score through 3: Even

No. 4

Another hole that saw Woods purposely leave his approach short, a clear strategy in the early going. A solid lag putt left a tap-in for his fourth straight par to begin his round. Score through 4: Even

No. 5

The 495-yard par 4 played as the toughest hole on the course at last year's Masters and is a brute again Thursday. Woods found the fairway with a tight cut off the tee, leaving him 218 yards for his approach. The iron was vintage Tiger with a high draw all over the pin, landing and rolling to a stop 15 feet from the hole. His birdie putt looked true the entire way until late movement saw a vicious lip-out, fooling everyone watching - including Tiger himself. Nevertheless, a par on Augusta's toughest hole is always a good score. Score through 5: Even

No. 6

Tiger somehow one-upped himself after his brilliant approach on No. 5 by coming up just 2 feet shy of an ace at the par-3 sixth. A perfect cut 6-iron on the 180-yard hole sent the patrons into a frenzy, and Woods tapped in the putt for his first birdie. According to Justin Ray of the Twenty First Group, it was Woods' 17th birdie on No. 6 since 1996 - the most of any player. Score through 6: 1-under

No. 7

His first bit of trouble off the tee Thursday came at No. 7, with his drive ending up in the trees on the right side. Unable to get to the green, he cut a low iron shot up the fairway that came to rest just shy of the greenside bunker. From there, he showed off his world-class short game with a perfect pitch to within a foot for an easy tap-in par. Score through 7: 1-under

No. 8

Woods began the hole one shot off the lead, and after two shots left him just 50 yards shy of the par 5, he had a good chance to grab a share at 2-under. Unfortunately, the rest of the hole didn't go according to plan as he left his pitch short before chipping past the pin and missing his par putt. The unexpected bogey would drop him to even for the day. Score through 8: Even

No. 9

The disappointing end to the last hole carried over to the tee shot on the ninth, with Woods hitting one well left of the fairway into the trees. His approach spun off the front of the green, leaving him with yet another tricky chip. For the second straight hole, he put too much pace on the shot and saw it scoot past the pin to leave a tricky downhill putt for par. He saved himself with the putter, pouring it in to finish his opening nine with a 36. Score through 9: Even

Second nine

No. 10

With a perfect slinging right-to-left shot off the tee, Woods quickly put to bed any questions about whether his knee would hold up when hitting draws. His approach yet again landed on the green but spun well back into the fairway, leaving a delicate pitch. Woods showed off his great hands by leaving it inside 5 feet before making the putt for a solid 4. Score through 10: Even

No. 11

Another great drive set Woods up in the fairway, but his ball landed a long way back on the lengthy 520-yard par-4 11th. After his long-iron shot fell just short of the putting surface, he pitched to within 4 feet and poured in the putt to save par. Now that he's through the difficult 10th and 11th, Woods heads to the iconic par-3 12th at even. Score through 11: Even

No. 12

Considering the last time Woods played the short par-3 he emerged with a sextuple-bogey 10, he has to be pleased with his comfortable two-putt par. Woods clearly played it safe with his tee shot to the fat part of the green, and he made a par a certainty with an excellent lag putt. With two reachable par-5s to play, Woods heads to No. 13 in great shape to post an under-par round. Score through 12: Even

No. 13

A perfect tee shot around the corner gave Woods the green light to attack the par 5 in two. A well-struck long iron found the green and left him with 24 feet up the hill for eagle. While his first putt fell short, he tapped in for his second birdie of the day to get within two of the lead at the time. Score through 13: 1-under

No. 14

His worst tee ball of the round immediately went left and ended up in the trees 191 yards from the hole. Then Woods appeared to be drinking from the fountain of youth, taking a mighty swing from the pine straw and even running after the shot for a moment. It ended up just over the back of the green, leaving him a tricky chip that he raced past the hole. His luck finally ran out after saving par a number of times throughout the round as the putt wouldn't drop, a result that moved him back to even. Score through 14: Even

No. 15

The 15th provided a bit of adventure for Woods, who drove it left and saw his second shot clip a tree and end up in the patrons short of the water in front of the green. The muddy ball made it difficult to carry his pitch all the way to the hole, leaving him with 31 feet for birdie. A two-putt gave him a par and ensured he played the four par-5s in even for the day. Score through 15: Even

No. 16

The sight of his most famous shot at Augusta National once again provided the backdrop for some dramatics on the second nine. Woods hit a safe tee shot on the par 3 to the right of the flag to leave a 29-footer for birdie. He stepped up and curled home the putt in the center of the cup to the delight of the patrons. His third birdie of the round got him back to red figures overall, heading to No. 17. Score through 16: 1-under

No. 17

Woods was clearly fired up from the birdie on No. 16, as he roasted a drive down the right side to set up a perfect angle for his approach. A brilliantly struck shot from 166 yards went right over the flag to leave a 19-footer for his second straight birdie. His putt would burn the edge on its way by, forcing Woods to settle for a par with just one hole to play. Score through 17: 1-under

No. 18

Just like the closing hole on the opening nine, Woods found the trees left off the tee on No. 18, this time just 190 yards from the tee box. With no hope of reaching the green, he fired a 3-wood down the fairway to leave 73 yards for his third. A savvy wedge that stayed under the hole left an uphill 8-footer that Woods poured in the middle for a 1-under 71. Score through 18: 1-under