Tiger sharp in first action since April

In his first fill round of golf since the Masters in April, Tiger Woods looked much like the Tiger of old on Thursday and not the one currently ranked 28th in the world.

Woods shot a 2-under-68 in the opening round of the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational in Akron, Ohio. Tiger has won Bridgestone six times in the past.

It was Woods’ first appearance on the PGA Tour since withdrawing from the Players Championship on May 12 with Achilles and knee injuries he first suffered at the Masters.

When asked what he learned about himself after competing for the first time in nearly four months, Woods replied, “The amount of progress I made in my golf swing. I was hitting proper shots out there, and the distances I was hitting the golf ball, I hadn’t hit the ball like this. This was fun. It was pretty nice.”

Woods is tied for 18th after one day at Firestone Country Club, six strokes behind Adam Scott, who coincidentally is using caddie Steve Williams, Woods’ longtime caddie whom he recently fired. Above all, Tiger just seemed happy to be back out there again.

“I hadn’t really gone at it until today,” he said. “Today was just, let’s go play and put everything else aside.”