Tiger Woods set off for one of the most eagerly anticipated rounds of all time by finding the fairway off the tee and parring the opening hole in the US Masters first round yesterday.

The disgraced world number one, welcomed back by cheering crowds in his first tournament for almost five months, struck a solid tee shot and looked calm as his ball bounced up the hill on the right side of the fairway.

With the breeze swirling, he twice threw up a few blades of grass to test the wind direction and changed clubs once before hitting a superb approach to 12 feet.

Woods tipped his cap to acknowledge the fans as he approached the green and narrowly missed his birdie putt, his attempt sliding past the left edge of the cup.

He also parred the second hole after hitting another good tee shot and two-putting from 20 feet.

A four-times champion at Augusta National, Woods has not competed since winning the Australian Masters on Nov. 15 following stunning revelations about his extra-marital affairs.

Under leaden skies, the galleries were packed at least five-deep all the way down the opening hole to watch the game's leading player start what media experts predict will be the biggest single-day television audience for a US golf event.

While Woods had to be feeling a little anxious about his emotional state of mind, he exuded a warm smile as he shook hands with playing partners KJ Choi of South Korea and American Matt Kuchar on the first tee.

The official starter announced: "On the tee, Tiger Woods", prompting loud cheering by the fans crammed on either side of the fairway in front of the imposing clubhouse at Augusta.