Tiger Woods opens with a 69 in his return to competitive golf

Justin Thomas (left) and Tiger Woods shake hands after finishing on the 18th green during the first round of the Hero World Challenge at Albany, Bahamas on November 30, 2017 in Nassau, Bahamas.  (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)

Credit: Mike Ehrmann

Credit: Mike Ehrmann

Justin Thomas (left) and Tiger Woods shake hands after finishing on the 18th green during the first round of the Hero World Challenge at Albany, Bahamas on November 30, 2017 in Nassau, Bahamas. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)

Tiger Woods made his return to golf Thursday at the Hero World Challenge, his first competitive event in 10 months.

Woods finished with a 69, three off the lead and three under par. His first drive went 30 yards past Justin Thomas’.

Tiger's back!

🐯 🏌️‍♂️

Tiger Woods has teed off at the

, his first outing in 10 months after back surgery...

— Omnisport (@OmnisportNews)

After registering a par or birdie on the first eight holes, Woods missed a putt to the left for a bogey on hole 9 (par 5). He had three birdies in the next five, including consecutive on hole 13 and 14 that pulled him to within one of the lead.

Both Woods’ bogies came on par 5s, but his drives and putting were significantly better than past comeback attempts.

Woods said he thought the round went very well.