He decided to give it a go, however, and while his opening swing was far from a thing of beauty and obviously hurt him it went down the middle and past those of playing partners Luke Donald and KJ Choi.

From there Woods pitched to nine feet and made the putt, but getting the ball out of the hole was not easy and on the second tee the world number two let out a yell as he struck his three-wood.

Beside the tee he closed his eyes, puffed out his cheeks and took some deep breaths. Yet he went on to birdie that hole as well and at two under was only one behind England’s David Howell and his fellow American Jerry Kelly.

Woods had played only seven holes in practice and had undergone intensive treatment since the trouble started early last week on a flight from New York to his Orlando home.

“I got it sleeping kind of awkwardly. I was really tired and just fell asleep on the plane,” he said.

“Just a couple of rib heads aren’t gliding properly and it spasmed up and hasn’t been the same since. I’m hitting it straighter, but it’s not going as far.”

He is trying for a third-successive victory in the event, but a failure to do so would leave him without a stroke play title for the first time since he won his fifth event as a professional in 1996.

Donald made a 25-footer on the first for birdie before parring the second, while over on the back nine his Ryder Cup team-mate Howell birdied the 10th, 13th and 14th.

Kelly had his three birdies in the first five, while alongside Woods on two under was South Korean SK Ho, Australian Peter Senior and Americans Jim Furyk and Brad Faxon.