• Chevron World Challenge, Round One

Choi leads as frustrated Woods stays in hunt

Tiger Woods' putting was erratic, but it was in the rough where he really struggled © Getty Images

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Tiger Woods overcame a sloppy back nine to post a solid opening round at the Chevron World Challenge on Thursday.

Woods, at world No. 52 the lowest ranked player in the 18-man field at the event in California he hosts, posted a round of 69 that included three bogeys to put him three-under for the tournament, three shots adrift of early leader KJ Choi.

"It was tough out there," Woods said. "It's hard to figure out the direction [to hit the ball] because the wind's coming off the left, it's coming off the right - it's swirling all over the place."

It threatened to be a much better round than that for the 14-time major champion after he made a blistering start at Sherwood Country Club, as he birdied four of his opening five holes to shoot into an early lead.

He holed out from nine feet at the first after a pinpoint spinning approach, before nearly making an eagle in similar fashion at the par-five next. Following a third birdie at the fourth another chance for eagle went begging at the fifth before a combination of windy conditions and sticky rough eventually dragged Woods back, with a first bogey coming on the ninth after he was only able to nudge his approach shot from the rough about 10 yards down the hole.

He retrieved that shot at the par-five 13th but added two more dropped shots at the 15th and 16th, as he once again paid the price for erring into the longer grass.

A beautiful birdie at the par-three 17th returned him to three-under and underlined his improved ball-striking, however, before a regulation par at the last concluded his round.

Woods' player partner, Steve Stricker, also sits three-under after his 69 - ultimately achieved by holing a treacherous 35-footer at the last.

It is Choi who leads at Thousand Oaks, however, after surpassing Woods' start and holding his nerve for the rest of the round.

The South Korean birdied his opening five holes and then reeled off consecutive pars until the 13th, where he added another shot to move to six-under. A bogey at the 15th was his only blip of the day, but he bounced back immediately as he went on to post a round of 66 to lead at six-under.

Nick Watney, Jim Furyk and Rickie Fowler all sit one-under on a difficult day for scoring, with Matt Kuchar and Hunter Mahan the only other players to match par.

The only Englishman in the field, Paul Casey is dead last after an ugly round of 79. Scotland's Martin Laird only fared marginally better - posting a similarly unimpressive 77 to sit five-over.

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