GOLF WGC-CA Championship:EVEN HOMER nods sometimes and Tiger Woods was no exception as he failed to solve the puzzling greens at Doral's Blue Monster course and opened the first round of the WGC-CA Championship with an ultimately disappointing one-under par 71 on his return to strokeplay action after a nine-month absence.

“It was a little bit frustrating on those greens today. I hit so many putts that looked good,” lamented Woods as he finished the day six strokes behind a quartet of leaders, Retief Goosen of South Africa, Prayad Marksaeng of Thailand and India’s Jeev Milkha Singh, and Phil Mickelson.

“I thought I hit my lines and thought I had the right speed, but they just didn’t go in.

“It’s not like I was playing poorly or struggling all the way around.

“If you go over the round, the putts I lipped out – (if) those putts lip in, that’s four or five under par right there, no problem.”

It is an indication of just how good Woods is that he could play the first three holes of his opening round in one under par without hitting even one good shot.

Dressed in a pair of smart, grey slacks and a white shirt with horizontal stripes, Woods heard a Latino voice shout “Let’s go, Tigre” as he strode on to the 10th tee, was greeted by Sweden’s Robert Karlsson and Canadian Mike Weir and unleashed a trademark stinger with a three-wood.

His 282-yard opener found the right side of the fairway on the 530-yard, dog-leg left par five, but what happened next set the tone for much of a frustrating day for the world number one.

Carving his long iron approach into the front right bunker in a left-to-right wind, he thrashed the sand with his wedge as his recovery slid off the green, and he then shaved the hole with a 12-footer for birdie.

Definitely not the start he was looking for.

A poor approach to the 11th forced him to chip and putt for his par, and while he got handsy with his tee-shot on the par-five 12th, his short game yielded a birdie in the shape of a 57-yard pitch and a delicate putt from 10 feet.

By that stage the leading Ws on the leaderboard were the likes of Nick Watney, Oliver Wilson and Boo Weekley, and when Woods bunkered his tee-shot at the 216-yard 13th, he missed an 11-footer and slipped back into the anonymity of the pack.

While he missed few fairways and generally struck the ball solidly, he was largely bereft of luck on the greens and only had to tap in from 20 inches at the 15th after a glorious approach to the 172-yard par three.

Perhaps the most impressive shot he hit all day was a picture-perfect, 313-yard draw down the fearsome 18th which left him no more than a three-quarter wedge to a front right pin.

He finished 30 feet away and missed the putt.

Trailing the leaders by six shots, Woods still believes he can win, explaining: “If I shot 64 every round, 20 under par would be pretty good.”

You wouldn’t bet against him.

Meanwhile, Henrik Stenson caused a storm when he stripped down to his underwear to play his way out of trouble.

Stenson hit a wild drive at the third hole, the 12th of his round, on the Blue Monster course, landing on mud in a water hazard.

With seven holes still to complete and the world number seven believing he had a good enough lie to hit out, the Swede opted to shed his clothes and play.

He got the ball out and carded a bogey five on the way to an opening round of 69.

“Because of the mud I couldn’t really afford to play in any of my clothes as they would have been a real mess down the last six or so holes so I had no option,” Stenson said.

“I was only wearing two things when I hit the shot, my jocks and my golf glove – that is the only thing that will appear in the picture aside from the golf club – just the way God created me.

“Shirt, trousers, socks, shoes, hat, the lot was off.”

Stenson certainly saw the funny side, but also said his decision paid dividends.

“I just remembered I didn’t have my rain gear so I didn’t have any choice,” he said. “I felt like I was definitely going to save a shot by actually playing the ball, so that was the only decision I had to make.

“If you are saving a shot, that has to be worth taking your shirt and trousers.

“I’m sure I’ll hear a few comments and once the pictures get out, I’ll hear a few more no doubt. I’ll probably take that to my grave with me.

“I don’t think I scared too many spectators off the course.”

Stenson also believes he might have opened up a new avenue for sponsorships.

"Absolutely, you never know, after this I might have a new endorsement with PlayGirlor something like that."