AUGUSTA, Ga. -- Tiger Woods' return to competition was going along fine through 10 holes -- no fireworks, no big mistakes. He was 1-over through 10 holes. A birdie at the par-4 third was followed by consecutive bogeys at Nos. 4 and 5. He settled into a rhythm after that, with five straight pars before beginning his trip around Amen Corner.
That's when trouble arrived. A quiet, uneventful round quickly went sideways. Here's how things got interesting in a hurry.
No. 11, Par 4, 505 yards
Tee shot: Woods' tee shot went way right. As the ball was in the air, he was begging it to get farther right. It did. He avoided the pine straw and some of the trees that line the right side of the fairway. That was the benefit of losing the tee shot so far right.
Second shot: After Woods, his caddie Joe LaCava and Augusta National marshals spent a little time moving the patrons out of the way, Woods tried to run his second shot down the right side of the fairway, staying as far as possible from the greenside pond. That plan didn't work when Woods' punch from the right side got caught up in the patrons, leaving him with 103 yards left for his third shot.
Third shot: With a full shot left instead of the greenside pitch he was hoping for, Woods flied his approach 19 feet past the pin. He had that left to save par.
Fourth shot. The par putt never had a chance, sliding by on the left.
Fifth shot: Woods tapped the ball in for bogey, dropping him to 2-over on his round.
No. 12, Par 3, 155 yards
Tee shot: With the wind swirling at the bottom of Amen Corner, Woods flaired his tee shot short and right. It hit the bank and tumbled back into Rae's Creek.
Third shot (after a penalty stroke): After spending some time deciding where to drop, Woods chose a spot 45 yards from the pin, leaving a delicate pitch to a narrow green -- short and he is back in the water; long and he is in the back bunker facing a terrifying blast back to the green while staring again at Rae's Creek. His pitch skirted by the front bunker, leaving him a 15-footer from the front edge.
Fourth shot: With a double-bogey staring him right in the face, Woods buried the putt. While still a bogey, a double would have dropped him to 4-over. Instead, he walked to the par-5 13th at 3-over.
No. 13, Par-5, 510 yards
Tee shot: Drive on 11 -- right. Tee shot on 12 -- right. Sensing a theme? Woods went with 3-wood at the 13th and hammered the ball into the pines up the right side, immediately ruling out going for the green in two.
Second shot: With very little choice, Woods had to play up the right side of the fairway. But like he did at 11, he clipped the patrons on the right side, again leaving himself around 100 yards for his third.
Third shot: With 99 yards to the hole, he dropped his approach 12 feet behind the hole and left a good look for birdie.
Fourth shot: Again, he could not convert, missing on the high side.
Fifth shot: He tapped in for a par and walked away from Amen Corner 2-over for those three holes and 3-over for his round to that point.
The final word ...
Somehow, after three wild holes, Woods steadied himself. While he appeared to be teetering after spraying shots around Amen Corner -- he walked to the 14th tee at 3-over, seven shots behind leader and playing partner Marc Leishman -- Woods quickly rebounded. He birdied the 14th and 16th holes, then closed with back-to-back pars at the 17th and 18th. A round that could have gone completely awry turned positive to keep Woods within earshot of the leaders.