Tiger Woods Shoots Even Par in 1st Round of 2018 Honda Classic

It doesn't look like Tiger Woods will have to worry about missing a cut two weeks in a row.

After falling four shots short of the cut line at the Genesis Open last week, Woods was solid in the first round of the Honda Classic on Thursday. He shot an even-par 70 at the PGA National Champion Course in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, and found himself just three shots off the lead at the conclusion of his round.

It was another step in his comeback efforts, as Sean Martin of the PGA Tour's official website noted it marked the first time he played consecutive PGA Tour events since 2015.

Woods was consistent for most of the round, tallying 13 pars and just one bogey. He also impressed with three birdies and would have been sitting just behind the leaders were it not for a double-bogey on the par-five No. 3.

The 42-year-old Woods may not be the same dominant force he was in his prime, but he is always going to be a draw as a 14-time major winner with 79 Tour titles. He is a mere three Tour victories short of Sam Snead's record 82, and he looked the part of a contender Thursday.

"I'm so happy I'm not in pain anymore, but I'm fused, so it's a little bit different," he said leading up to the tournament, per Steve DiMeglio of USA Today. "I'm still learning what that feels like under the gun. Some of my shots, they are not the same as they used to be. That part, I'm going to have to learn. It's not something that I'm used to because I've never felt like this before, but this is the new norm."

The new norm was enough to remain in contention in the first round of the Honda Classic, at a course he has dominated in the past.

According to Martin, Woods' 69.0 scoring average at PGA National is the lowest at the course since 2010. He last played the Honda Classic in 2014, when he withdrew from the final round before undergoing the first of his four back surgeries.

He started at No. 10 Thursday and wasted little time establishing momentum by drilling a birdie putt on No. 11 and adding another on No. 13:

Woods dropped a stroke on No. 16 when he found a green-side bunker on his approach en route to a bogey, but he still finished the opening nine one-under par. He needed a mere 12 putts through his first nine holes, per ESPN.com's Bob Harig, which helped to set the tone for the round.

His putter and everything else failed him on the disastrous No. 3—his 12th hole of the day—when he missed an opportunity to make up ground on the final par five of his round. He went driver and found a fairway bunker, placed his third shot in a green-side bunker and missed a short putt to salvage a bogey.

To Woods' credit, he came back with the type of response he needed to avoid a precipitous fall on the leaderboard after his promising start. He birdied the next hole and ended his round with five straight pars.

The par save on No. 6—his 15th hole of the round—was particularly notable after he was laughing at his poor drive in the tee box:

If Woods continues to scramble like that and takes advantage of timely birdie chances, he figures to remain in contention against a strong field that features Rickie Fowler, Rory McIlroy and Sergio Garcia, among others.