Tiger Woods cards 1-under 71 in opening round of Masters at Augusta National

AUGUSTA, Ga. -- In his first competitive round of golf in 509 days, five-time Masters champion Tiger Woods shot a 1-under 71 in the first round Thursday at Augusta National Golf Club.

Woods was 3 shots behind clubhouse leader Cameron Smith after finishing his round.

It was Woods' first round in a tournament after he was seriously injured in a car accident outside Los Angeles on Feb. 23, 2021. He hadn't played in a regular PGA Tour event since November 2020, when he tied for 38th at the Masters, which was played later that year because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Speaking after the round, Woods told ESPN that he hit it "awful" while warming up Thursday morning but was happy with where he finished. 

"As the round built, I was able to get into the red," he said. "Got out of there, got to even par. Made two stupid mistakes at 8 [which he bogeyed]. But I fought back. And for the day, to end up in the red, I'm right where I need to be." 

Woods, 46, got to 1 under with a 29-foot birdie putt on the par-3 16th hole. Just as the ball dropped in the hole, he raised his right fist to the crowd.

It was an up-and-down round for Woods, who is playing competitively for the first time with a rod in the tibia of his right leg and screws and plates in his right ankle and foot. He told reporters in December that surgeons nearly had to amputate his leg because it was so severely injured.