Woods Cruises to First-Round Victory

Eight months after his last tournament, Tiger Woods looked as though he'd never been away. Woods made a triumphant return to golf today in the Accenture Match Play Championship in Arizona with a spectacular start that showed golf what it had been missing for 253 days. Woods defeated Brendan Jones of Australia 3-and-2 in match play to advance to the next round tomorrow.

"It felt good," said Woods afterward. An 8-iron that came to rest within 5 feet of the first hole provided the initial proof. But it was the middle iron that soared majestically toward the green on the par-5 second was what golf had really been missing. "Gawd, look at that!" someone behind Woods screamed as the ball landed 4 feet from the hole. It even elicited the trademark Tiger fist pump. (More Tiger Woods stories.)