Tiger Woods grinds out a 1-over, 73 in return to Augusta

Tiger Woods, on a Thursday when Jordan Spieth went all Eldrick circa 1997, showed flashes of mediocrity and brilliance in his opening round of the 2015 Masters at Augusta. But a 1-over 73 after a two-month layoff to work the kinks out of a shaggy short game was a pretty good second act for the former world No. 1.

Or was his grinding, three-birdie, four-bogey effort the third, fourth, or fifth act for the Big Cat who seems intent on using all of his apparent nine lives? How ever you do the math, the 39-year-old superstar in search of his 15th major title put up a respectable, if uneven, number in his first competitive start since the ugliness at Torrey Pines.

Woods, you may recall, carded his worst round as a professional (82) on his way to a missed cut in Phoenix, withdrew after 11 holes from the Farmers Insurance Open, and subsequently went on a self-imposed hiatus in an attempt to regain his form.

Guessing how Tiger would perform in his first appearance at Augusta since 2013 was a sport unto itself before Woods’ 1:48 p.m. ET tee time. Phil Mickelson predicted his old rival would be “sharp,” while pundits Paul Azinger and Curtis Strange claimed Woods was “lost.”

The reality was somewhere in between, with his bogey on the par-3 12th the quintessential best of times-worst of times. He knocked his tee shot into the drink fronting the green, then clipped a perfect wedge shot from a tight lie to kick-in distance.

The Tiger of yore showed up on shots like the violent cut he took out of the rough on No. 7. Hitting a high cut over the trees to the center of the green, Woods put to rest any lingering concerns about his surgically repaired back.

The par-4 ninth, on the other hand, was the type of adventure that might have sparked some misfiring glutes in weeks past. There was this Statue of Liberty play from Woods after a dead yank from the tee ended up on the adjoining fairway.

The golfer who danced and bear-hugged his way onto the grounds of the place where he has won four green jackets got off a good one after his ragged drive.

“It’s a fairway hit, Joey,” Tiger cracked, according to Geoff Shackelford, who reported that the crowd giggled but his caddy Joe LaCava remained stone-faced.

He showed a bit more frustration with his next shot, but a two-putt bogey wasn’t too bad.

Woods was nine shots behind 18-hole leader Spieth, who carded an eye-popping 64. He might be heartened to know, though a bogey on the first hole was not how he hoped to kick start his latest comeback, that the last time he won the Masters (2005) he also scored a five on No. 1.

And so we’re on to Friday still scratching our heads over what Tiger will pull out of his bag after he displayed what CBS analyst David Feherty called “sensational” wedge play. His other clubs, not so much.

Feherty pretty much summed it up after Woods lost another tee shot into the pine straw on No. 15.

“His long game and his short game,” Feherty said, “appear not to want to be on the same golf course together.”