Sungjae Im, world number 26, leads the field of 90 participants after the first day of the 86th Masters in Augusta.

After a round of 67, the 26-year-old South Korean golf pro is one shot ahead of Australian Cameron Smith, who won the Players Championship, the unofficial five major, last month.

But that was only a side issue on this wet and windy day in the American southern state of Georgia.

Thursday was all about Tiger Woods' comeback.

508 days after his last official tournament participation at the Masters 2020 and 408 days after his terrible traffic accident in a suburb of Los Angeles, in which his right leg was injured so badly that an amputation was only prevented thanks to the most modern surgical techniques, the superstar played again for the first time at an official tournament.

And what hardly anyone expected: Tiger hit a round of 71 shots (one under par).

He needed just one shot more than his 2019 opener, which laid the foundation for his fifth Masters and 15th Major win.

Score better than the game

The crowd's favourite, who, as in the practice rounds, was accompanied by by far the majority of fans, now ranks in shared tenth place, just four shots behind the leader.

But the result sounds better than his game was.

Woods hit the ball badly on the practice field in the morning, only slightly better on the round.

He only hit nine greens in the prescribed number of shots (greens in regulation), and four times he shot far to the left.

But still hardly anyone hits the irons as precisely as the longtime leader.

Added to this is his extreme sensitivity on and around the green.

Woods still masters the so-called "srambling", saving par when you miss a green, like hardly any other colleague, even after the long forced break that caused him to slip down to 973rd place in the industry pecking order.

As well as putting, he'd been practicing his short game daily at the training facility at his Jupiter, Fla., home for the past few weeks and months, long before he could hit full swings again.

That's another reason why he was satisfied with his round: "To end up in the red today (i.e. under par), after such a long break as I had and after not having taken part in a competition, that's something very special.

Rods, screws and nails in the leg

As he headed towards the clubhouse after the 18th hole and the fans cheered him on, Woods couldn't help but smile.

He was visibly enjoying the enthusiasm again after three years, because in 2020 the Masters took place without a spectator and last year Woods only saw the tournament from the sick bed to which he was tied for three months.

"I feel very fortunate to have had the opportunity to play here, even to be hosted at the Masters and such," Woods said.

He frankly admitted that his leg and foot, patched together with bars, screws and nails, hurt him badly during the round.

When reading the greens, he could never crouch completely.

Woods announced that he would pack his badly swollen leg in ice immediately after the round.

"Yes, it will hurt.

That's the way it is.

But the training cycles we've had are to make sure I have the stamina to keep going.

We still have three more laps to go.

There is still a long way to go and there are still many shots to be played.

Like I said, with all the hard work, my leg is going to take a toll for the rest of my life.

That's the way it is, but I can do it."

At his press conference on Tuesday, he said with firm conviction that he believed he could win this Masters.

On Thursday it sounded a bit more modest.

He admitted that just being able to play golf again was a win.