Tiger Woods at Masters Par 3 Tournament 2015: Score, Highlights and Reaction

While there is a ton of focus on Tiger Woods' decision to enter The Masters, his return to competitive golf actually occurred Wednesday at the Masters Par 3 Contest.

Woods decided to take a nearly two-month break from competition in order to get healthy and fine-tune his game, and he certainly showed some flashes of brilliance Wednesday by performing well in all aspects during the nine-hole event.

Tiger's return to the course was somewhat significant in that it allowed him to get some holes in with a sizable crowd watching, but he admitted beforehand that his participation was about having fun, according to ESPN.com's Jason Sobel:

Woods was also able to enjoy some time with his family, as his two children served as his caddies, while girlfriend and skiing superstar Lindsey Vonn tagged along as well, as seen in this photo courtesy of BBC Sport:

Prior to his round, Tiger discussed the importance of having Sam and Charlie out on the course with him, per the New York Daily News:

"

As I said, this tournament means so much to me in so many different ways. We all know what happened in '97 with my dad's health, and he was pronounced, well, he was dead at one point earlier that year; came back, and then came here and I won the Masters. To now have come full circle and to have a chance to have my kids out there and be able to share that with them, it's special.

Charlie has seen me win a golf tournament before. Sam, actually she was there at the U.S. Open in 2008, but doesn't remember it. It's nice to be able to share these things with my family, and it just means the world to me. They are excited, I'm excited and can't wait to go out there.

"

Regardless of what Woods said, there is little doubt that he wanted to at least turn in a solid performance as well. Based on how he looked on the practice green, there was some concern that might not happen, according to Dan Jenkins of GolfDigest.com:

That poor putting didn't carry over to the Par 3 Contest itself, though, as he sunk a tricky birdie try on the fourth hole, per Golf Channel's Tiger Tracker:

Woods will do everything in his power to win a fifth green jacket this week, but the 39-year-old legend proved that winning wasn't on his mind Wednesday.

That much was obvious when he allowed his daughter to putt out a hole for him, which means he was disqualified from vying for the Par 3 Contest title:

Perhaps the best moment of the day occurred when Jack Nicklaus sent the crowd into a frenzy with a hole in one. Just minutes after that, Tiger very nearly matched him, according to Rich Eisen of CBS Sports:

There is no question that the atmosphere and level of importance will be far different when Woods takes the course for Thursday's first round of the Masters, but it is tough to come away from the Par 3 Contest feeling anything but positive about his form.

Tiger was extremely strong off the tee, putted well and looked comfortable throughout. If he can somehow transition those aspects to The Masters tournament itself, he has a chance to pull out a good performance.

Few are expecting Woods to actually vie for a title considering how he has played this year, but he proved to some degree Wednesday that he has a fighting chance at Augusta National.

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