Tiger Woods had taken himself out to play in the very first ball of this year's President's Cup. And the captain immediately showed his team how to do it.

With his second hit of the round, he pitched his recorder just a few inches from the hole. A simple birdie later, Woods had a hit in the best ball against Justin Leishman and Joaquin Niemann in pair with Justin Thomas.

Woods followed up with a new birdie on the second hole and then the Australian-Chilean did not have much to oppose in the opening ball of the competition between the US and the rest of the world (except Europe).

Heavy for Johnson

But the American team, which on paper is both more star-tight and ranking superior, did not grab the baton. When Woods had played cards, he could see on the scoreboard how the team was down in today's other four games. And in many places it is substantial.

It was the heaviest for world fiancé Dustin Johnson, who, with Gary Woodland, had a hard time at Royal Melbourne. Routine South African Louis Oosthuizen almost saw on his own that he and Mexico's Abraham Ancer led by four points after five holes.

Tiger Woods sighed and chewed hard on his chewing gum, but he couldn't stop the point of rolling in punches for the World Cup. His counterpart Ernie Els, for his part, got to see big home star Adam Scott shine and a relative obscurity as South Korea's Sungjae Im make today's only eagle.

"We have a plan"

The final match of the day was decided first on the 18th green. When Patrick Reed, the American who has been the focus of the past few days following suspected cheating in a competition in the Bahamas, missed an electric meter spurt, he and Webb Simpson had lost that match as well.

And the US was down by 1-4 after the first day's play.

But Tiger Woods has not given up. In a quick interview right after today's last putt, he noted that the situation was dark, but far from settled.

- We have to go out and win now. It will be a long week, he said in Australian television.

- We have a plan and must try to follow it.

The President's Cup continues with five games during Friday, then in the foursome.