Solid opening round for Tiger in Kuala Lumpur

It was a tale of two nines for Tiger Woods on Thursday in the first round of the $6.1 million CIMB Classic at The MINES Golf Club in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. After playing the front nine in even par, Tiger blistered the back nine with a 5-under 31 to shoot 66.

He is tied for seventh, three strokes behind leader Troy Matteson.

“Realistically, it could have been 7- or 8-under,” Woods said of his sizzling back-nine play in hot, humid conditions. “But even at the turn, and to still post 5-under, was a nice little comeback.”

Competing in Malaysia for the first time since 1999, when he won the World Cup, Tiger was paired in the final twosome of the day with Australian Marcus Fraser, a two-time runner-up on the European Tour. Woods made early birdies on the third and fifth holes but dropped a pair of shots at the eighth and ninth holes, where he missed short putts.

“It is a little different mindset,” Woods said. “What’s frustrating is I make the turn at even par and I’m eight back. I just felt like I got run over.”

Tiger turned the tables on the back side with birdies at Nos. 10, 11, 15, 16 and 17, nearly chipping in for an eagle at the latter. He knows he must continue to go low to stay within touch of the leaders.

“It’s going to take 20-plus-under this week to win the tournament,” he said. “So I’ve got to be aggressive, and we’ve got to go get it.”

A three-time winner on the PGA Tour this year, Tiger has earned $6.1 million. He contended in three of the four major championships but was unable to add to his career total of 14, second only to Jack Nicklaus (18).

“I’ve always said winning one major championship turns a good year into a great year,” he said earlier this week.

Tiger will begin second-round play Thursday at 10:10 p.m. ET with Jbe’ Kruger.