Woods cards opening 69 at happy hunting ground

Tiger Woods returned to one of his happiest hunting grounds yesterday and enjoyed himself again. With a three-under-par 69, Woods, recovered from the achilles injury which led to him pulling out of his last PGA Tour event a fortnight ago, was only one off the early clubhouse lead in the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill.

The former world No 1, making his last appearance before The Masters in two weeks’ time, is a six-times winner of the title.

With his only dropped shot coming as a result of three-putting the short 17th, Woods will draw a lot of confidence from a round that was four strokes better than that of Phil Mickelson. Woods said: “I was just solid all day – I drove the ball well, hit my irons decent and putted all right.

“I’m in a position where I can hit it again. That’s something that’s been missing for a while and it’s all the work that Sean [coach Sean Foley] and I have put together.”

Nick Watney set the clubhouse target with a 68 on a day when the later first-round starters including Scotland’s Martin Laird, the defending champion.