Woods slow from gate, but he rallies in stretch

It had been 4 1/2 months since Tiger Woods stuck a tee in American soil to start an official PGA Tour event, so it was understandable that it might take some time before he found a rhythm Thursday in the opening round of the Buick Invitational.

Woods’ performance in his 2007 season debut, however, was a quick reminder that the No. 1 player in the world is intent on winning the tournament for a third consecutive year and extending his win streak in PGA Tour events to a career-best seven.

He shot six-under-par 66 on the shorter North Course at Torrey Pines, a round that started with bogeys on two of his first three holes and was punctuated with kick-in eagles to finish each nine.

He is five shots behind leader Brandt Snedeker, a tour rookie who shot nine-under 27 on his first nine, tying the tour record for lowest nine holes in relation to par, setting a tournament record for lowest nine holes and equaling the tournament single-round record at 61.

Woods said he’d take 66, considering his start.

“It took me probably three or four holes before I got back into the flow of competition,” said Woods, who is in a nine-way tie for 14th place. “I was already two over, which is not a good sign, but once I found my speed on the greens, everything was all right.”

Woods rallied with birdies on his fifth, sixth and seventh holes, then closed his opening nine with a 311-yard drive down the middle, followed by a 209-yard five-iron approach that hit the flagstick on the par-five 18th green. He made the seven-foot putt for eagle.

He got to four under when he made a five-foot putt for birdie on the 325-yard par-four second hole, his 11th, and made all pars until the par-five ninth, his last hole. There, he hit a 329-yard drive and again hit a pinpoint five-iron from 219 yards that came to rest seven feet from the hole and made the eagle.

“Those were two of the best iron shots I hit all day,” Woods said.

The opening 66 matches his lowest opening round in nine career starts at Torrey Pines. In the four years he has won the tournament, he has opened with 71, 70, 69 and 68. It’s even more encouraging to Woods, who said he has had a tough time taking advantage of the easier North Course, which ranked 53rd in difficulty among the 55 courses used for PGA tour events.

“I’m excited,” Woods said. “I normally don’t shoot good rounds over here. Actually, to shoot a round in the 60s is always good for me going over to the South Course.”

Thursday, the South Course, which will be used for the 2008 U.S. Open, yielded only three scores in the 60s, compared with 55 on the North. Camilo Villegas shot a five-under 67 on the South Course and is the only player among the top 33 who played the South.

One player who took full advantage of the easier North was Snedeker, a Nationwide Tour graduate who had never played at Torrey Pines before his practice rounds this week.

He started with four consecutive birdies followed by an eagle and two more birdies, a par and an eagle. Through seven holes, he hit the ball only 20 times and had no score higher than three on his scorecard until he made a birdie on the par-five ninth.

Those chasing him, including Woods, had to do a double take when they saw his score posted on a scoreboard.

“We all said, OK, that might be a misprint,” Woods said. “Then it came up again and obviously it wasn’t. That’s some great playing.”

Charlie Wi shot a 63 on the North, with John Senden, who played with Woods, and Jeff Qinney at 64.

Woods hadn’t played a PGA Tour event since the WGC American Express Championship, which ended Oct. 1 in England, and hasn’t played a tour event in the U.S. since the Deutsche Bank Championship ended Sept. 4.

His last tournament anywhere was the Target World Challenge more than a month ago at Sherwood Country Club in Thousand Oaks.

“It felt really good to get back out there again,” Woods said. “I missed getting out here and mixing it up with the boys a little bit.”

peter.yoon@latimes.com