Tiger Woods returns with mixed bag and a 73

Tiger Woods ruined an otherwise impressive return to golf Thursday with two double bogeys over the final three holes for a 1-over 73 at the Hero World Challenge.

For eight holes, it sure didn't look as though Woods had been out of competition for 15 months while recovering from two back surgeries. His 6-iron to tap-in range on the par-3 eighth tied him for the lead.

But his mistakes, while not big misses, were costly. He took a 6 on two par 5s. He hit into a bush from the middle of the 16th fairway and made double bogey, and he pulled his tee shot into the water on the final hole for another double bogey.

Woods was nine shots behind J.B. Holmes, in 17th place in the 18-man field. Only Justin Rose had a higher score at Albany Golf Club.