Tiger Woods struggles on his return

Woods went south on the easier North Course at Torrey Pines, hitting only one fairway and having to scramble for a birdie on his final hole for a 1-under 71 on Thursday in the Buick Invitational. That left him six shots behind Brandt Jobe and Thomas Levet, but he will be around the cut line Friday playing the South Course, which was four strokes harder.

"The driver is fine," Woods said about a new Nike driver in his bag. "It's the dude holding it."

First-round scores are never more misleading than at the Buick Invitational, with one course that plays like a pitch-and-putt at 6,874 yards and the other that will host the U.S. Open in two years.

Jobe made seven birdies -- all but one of them outside 15 feet -- for a 7-under 65 and was joined atop the leaderboard by Levet, who also played a bogey-free round.

They were on the North Course, along with just about everyone else at the top of the leaderboard. The average score was 69.76.

Of the top 40 players, only six played on the South Course, which measures 7,607 yards and yielded an average score of 73.9. Not only was it four shots tougher Thursday, it took about 30 minutes longer for rounds on the South to be completed.

Jesper Parnevik had a 67, the best score among those on the South. It was so impressive that even Jobe considered him to be the first-round leader.

"Give me a 5 under on the South Course tomorrow and then we'll talk," he said.

Stuart Appleby was among nine players at 66 -- all of them on the North -- and he thrilled a large gallery with a shot out of the rough on the eighth hole that landed 20 feet short of the pin, took a hard tumble forward and gently struck the flag stick before dropping for eagle.

The gallery was there watching Woods, who went 24 days without touching a club from Dec. 12 to Jan. 5, skipping the season-opening Mercedes Championships to give himself a six-week vacation -- the longest self-imposed break in his 10 years on the PGA Tour.

Woods' round was going fine, 3 under after back-to-back birdies on the par 5s (Nos. 18 and 1), until his errant tee shots caught up with him. From deep rough on No. 4, a wedge came out heavy and short, and he took bogey. He dropped shots on the next two holes, and only a good chip on the par-5 ninth put him under par.

"This was terrible today," Woods said.

Woods has never finished worse than a tie for 10th at the Buick Invitational, a tournament he has won three times.

And there could be one ominous sign -- the last time he used the new Nike driver was at Disney last year. He opened with a 68 on the easier Palm Course, then missed the cut the next day.

Asked his strategy for the South Course, Woods said, "Maybe I can play 16 holes and walk off."

Along with Parnevik, the only five players to break 70 on the South Course were Tim Clark and D.A. Points at 68, and John Daly, John Rollins and Woody Austin at 69. It was a remarkable round from Daly, considering he learned the day before the tournament that his wife was on her way to jail for five months on a federal charge involving financial transactions from a drug and gambling operation.

For someone playing the easier course, Jobe made it tough on himself.

He only hit four fairways while experimenting with a change in loft in his driver, but made up for it with a putting round that ranks among his best. He opened with three birdies from the 15-foot range, and closed out his front nine with a lob wedge into the par-5 ninth that spun back 35 feet, which he made for birdie.

He also holed a 60-foot birdie putt on the 15th. His only tap-in came on the par-5 14th, where he missed a 10-foot eagle putt. And the only thing that kept Jobe from the outright lead was missing a 4-footer on the 18th hole and having to settle for a three-putt par.

"When I did hit a fairway, I three-putted," Jobe said. "Go figure that one out. It doesn't make sense. Strange game."

Strange is a word usually associated with Parnevik, the Swede who introduced pink pants and other bizarre clothing to the PGA Tour and was famous for flipping up the bill of his cap so his entire face could get tanned. He prefers a black wardrobe now, and with eye surgery a year ago, goes with a standard cap.

Even so, a guy who hasn't won in five years and barely kept his card last year, had a simple explanation for his strong start to the year, including a runner-up finish last week at the Bob Hope Classic.

He spent too much time celebrating the holidays, and had no expectations when he went to Hawaii. Testing a new driver in the wind, something clicked after two swings, and he now feels confident as ever.

"That's how weird this game is," Parnevik said. "You can go from pretty much having no clue and searching really hard where the ball is going to go. I made two swings and it's like, 'I've got it now."'

He found it on the South Course, which he described as a monster with its length and deep rough.

That's what awaits Woods on Friday.