Tiger Woods shot a 4-under 68 - his best first round at Augusta National - to leave him tied for sixth and only two shots behind Fred Couples after an extraordinary opening day at the Masters yesterday.
Standing on the first tee, looking down a fairway lined with thousands of spectators curious to see how he would respond to a sex scandal that shocked the world, Woods did not flinch.
"It felt normal," he said. "Try to hit a little fade off the first tee ... and make sure I got it in play. That was about it. From there, I just went about my business."
Woods twirled his club after a good drive, slammed it after a few bad ones. He pumped his fist after making the first of two eagles and sunk to his knees when he missed a birdie putt on the 16th. And, just like always, he complained about not making enough putts.
"Otherwise, it could have been a very special round," Woods said.
Yet it was special in so many ways.
The 50-year-old Couples sauntered along in tennis shoes and no socks and shot a six-under 66, his best round at the Masters.
"I never really thought about what I was shooting," said Couples, who already has won three times this year on the 50-and-older Champions Tour.
"It was a fun day for me. I still think I can play, and if I putt well, I've got to be some kind of factor, in my mind."
Tom Watson, at 60 the oldest player in this Masters, picked up from his amazing performance at last summer's British Open with a bogey-free 67, that left him level with Lee Westwood, Phil Mickelson, PGA champion YE Yang and KJ Choi.
Still, this day was always going to be about Woods.
A four-time Masters champion, he has never come to Augusta National with so much uncertainty - about his game, and mostly how fans would respond to a player whose impeccable image had been shattered by tawdry tabloid tales of sex.
The patrons were on their best behaviour but Augusta National cannot control the perimeter of the course, and a couple of planes toted banners that poked fun at Woods - one for his pledge to get back to Buddhism ("Bootyism," the banner said), another mocking claims he needed therapy as a sex addict.
On the ground, the gallery was mostly positive, with a few exceptions.
"He doesn't have the right character and integrity to represent golf," Larry Isenhour said. "That's why I came out early this morning to applaud Jack Nicklaus."
Nicklaus, the six-time Masters champion, joined Arnold Palmer as an honorary starter. The two old rivals hit the ceremonial tee shots to open the Masters, and chairman Billy Payne said: "The 2010 Masters is now officially begun. Have fun."
Clouds kept the sun from baking out the greens, and some of the hole locations allowed for birdies. The low scores were not a surprise - only the names next to them.
Watson had two birdies in three holes to put his name on the leaderboard. Mickelson looked as comfortable as ever, particularly on the back nine with an eagle-birdie-birdie stretch that put him on top at 67.
Westwood, Europe's top player, had only broken 70 twice in his Masters career until running off seven birdies for a 67.
Throughout the morning, however, anticipation built towards Woods' return.
"Fore, please. Now on the tee, Tiger Woods," the starter said.
The crowd let out a spontaneous cheer, and more applause followed when Woods found the fairway.
From there, it looked as though Woods had never been gone.
He confessed no special satisfaction in his performance, dismissed any notion that it signified redemption.
"It meant that I'm two shots off the lead," he said flatly. "That's what it means.
"I'm here to play a golf tournament."
CAPTION: American Tiger Woods chips to the second green during the first round of the Masters in Augusta, Georgia, yesterday. The world No 1 fired a 4-under-par 68 to be two shots off the lead.
