Woods wins on comeback

Tiger Woods showed few signs of rust as he made a winning return to competitive golf at the WGC Matchplay Championship in Arizona on Wednesday.

Woods’ Australian opponent, Brendan Jones, never had a chance in a match where he failed to lead at any stage.

“I thought it would take me a little bit longer to get into the rhythm of the round,” Woods conceded after rocketing to a 2 shot lead within 2 holes.

“Walking down the fairway, it felt like business as usual,” he said. “I thought I would be more nervous on the first tee. It just came back down to playing the game again, and that felt good.”

Woods was besieged by adoring fans at each hole, but seemed to be oblivious to the throngs of spectators that crammed into the bleachers to watch each shot.

The WGC Matchplay Championship top seed will face Tim Clark in the second round of the tournament on Thursday.

“We’ll see what happens,” Clark said after defeating Retief Goosen. “I played him a couple of years ago, so I know what to expect. I’m not afraid of the match. I’m just going to give it my best shot, and if I lose, it’s not a big deal. And if I win, great. I’m not going to put any pressure on myself.”