Tiger Woods made a steady start to the defence of his Australian Masters crown with a two-under-par opening round of 69.
The 14-time major winner impressed with his driving and his
Nike VR Forged TW Blade irons on the first day at Victoria Golf Club, but was let down by his putting.
However, Woods is well-placed to win his first title since landing the same event last year as he sits just four shots behind the early pace set by Adam Bland, Daniel Gaunt and Alistair Presnell.
"I gave myself a bunch of looks early for birdie but every putt was hit a little bit shy, not quite hard enough to hold the pace," said the world number two.
"The only bogey I made today was a three-putt. I need a little bit more work on that tomorrow."
Woods also revealed that he was pleased with the way he was striking his
Nike One Tour D ball and suggested that he could easily have finished the day on at least four under.
The 34-year-old recently lost his world number one spot to Lee Westwood after spending 281 straight weeks at the top of the rankings.
Your one stop shop for all your golf clubs, golf balls, golf bags, golf irons and golf equipment.
Return to Latest golf News