• Quail Hollow Championship

Tiger struggles on PGA Tour comeback

Tiger Woods will need to up his game to make the cut after a first-round 74 left him two-over-par and nine shots off the lead, held by fellow American Bo Van Pelt.

Woods made a perfect start to the day with a birdie as he made his first competitive start since coming fourth in the Masters. But a sliced drive into the left rough on the 12th hole would lead to his first bogey and the beginning of some increasingly inconsistent play.

Two birdies, two bogeys and one double-bogey would follow for the 14-time major winner as he stumbled to a very disappointing finish on his return to the PGA Tour.

"It was a terrible day," Woods admitted after his round. "I just didn't have it today. I was dropping balls out of hazards and finding balls in trees. I was struggling so bad, I didn't know which way I was going to go, whether I was going left or right. I hit a bunch of balls left, I hit a bunch of balls right, hit a few down the middle, and that was about it."

In contrast, leader Van Pelt fired seven birdies and no bogeys as he played beautifully to take the first-round lead with a round of 65. The American, who claimed his first PGA Tour win at the Milwaukee Championship last year, has used 10 different putters this season before finally settling on his current model and was red-hot on the greens.

The 2009 Masters runner-up Kenny Perry trails Van Pelt by a single shot in second after a first-round 66, which contained five birdies, one eagle and two bogeys.

Colombian Camilo Villegas sits alone in third after a round of 67, while 2006 US Open champion Geoff Ogilvy is the most notable name in a group of six tied for fourth-place.

Last month's Masters winner Phil Mickelson is in striking distance after a two-under-par round of 70, and is joined by Angel Cabrera, the man who helped him into his green jacket, in a tie for 15th place.

Rory Mcllroy was in contention after four birdies in his first 11 holes, but a bogey at the 12th and a double at the tricky 16th saw him slip back to level-par. Padraig Harrington and Ross Fisher join the youngster on the same score.

Lee Westwood provided plenty of entertainment in his one-over round of 72, most notably with an eagle at the seventh, but the Englishman will be ultimately disappointed with his efforts after a fine start to the season.

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