Tiger back in the groove

Tiger Woods tees off at the 1st at Dove Mountain

Fans flocked to the 1st to see Tiger Woods start his comeback round

By Russell Fuller in Arizona

They gathered in great numbers on the practice range, and then around the practice putting green, to watch Tiger Woods prepare for American sport's most talked about comeback since basketball star Michael Jordan decided that his flirtation with baseball shouldn't end in marriage.

The people of Arizona then applauded him on to the 1st tee in bright sunlight as the world number one munched nonchalantly on a banana, seemingly in his own little world.

Tiger had had eight months to visualise his opening tee shot, and sure enough it found the right edge of the fairway.

And then, in the same way that Ian Botham always seemed to take a wicket in his first over when he returned to the England Test team, Tiger rifled the ball to four feet, and it soon disappeared for an opening birdie.

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An eagle would almost certainly have followed at the 2nd, if Brendan Jones hadn't conceded the hole, and Tiger was up and running.

There were no great histrionics from the man who has seen it all before, but after an uninspiring run of holes, he gave the galleries a moment to cherish.

Having reached the par five 14th in two shots, he rolled in a 20-footer from the edge of the green and raised his putter to the sky - but retained his poker face in case his Australian opponent wasn't quite done.

He was by the 16th green, and Tiger was off to embark on a strictly controlled round of interviews.

Nothing headline grabbing passed his lips, but he did say that his rebuilt knee felt fine, that he would never turn up to a tournament he didn't think he could win, and that anything he accomplishes on the golf course pales into insignificance compared to the achievements of his children.

As he disappeared to put some ice on his knee, the NBC Nightly News team prepared for broadcast; copy was sent around the United States to Los Angeles, New York, Denver and Kansas; and around the world to sports fans who may not care for your run-of-the-mill PGA event, but certainly do when Tiger is teeing it up.