THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. – Ouch.

In his return to golf after a four-week break, Tiger Woods did something he’s never done before in his professional career.

Warning: It’s nothing to brag about.

In Thursday’s first round of the Zozo Championship at Sherwood, Wood made bogey or worse on three par-5s in a single round. That’s not something the man with a record-tying 82 PGA Tour titles, 15 major championships and a record 11 PGA Tour Player of the Year awards wants to highlight on his resume.

Or talk about. So Woods didn’t as he refused to meet with the media following his round. Then again, if you don’t have something nice to say, don’t anything at all.

ZOZO: Tee times, TV info | Scores | Photo gallery

And there wasn’t much on the nice side as Woods shot his worst round in 49 trips around Sherwood – a 4-over-par 76. That’s 7.5 shots higher than his 68.46 career average at Sherwood heading into this year’s first round.

His previous worst round came in 2001 when he shot 74 in the third round. He still won that year. As for this year, it will be a tall order as Woods, the defending champion – he won his 82nd PGA Tour title in this tournament last fall in Japan – is 12 shots behind leader Sebastian Munoz.

He’s tied for 75th in a field of 77 – Gary Woodland withdrew with a back injury an hour into his round.

Woods, who missed the cut in the U.S. Open last month in his most recent start, spoke on Tuesday how he would use this week’s Zozo as a key start in his run-up to his title defense in the Masters in November. He was in a goof spot – he’s won here five times, finished second five times and tied for fourth in 12 starts here.

Zozo Championship

Tiger Woods waits on the 10th green during the first round of the Zozo Championship golf tournament Thursday, Oct. 22, 2020, in Thousand Oaks, Calif. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

“My game’s definitely better than it was at the U.S. Open,” said Woods, who has slipped to No. 28 in the official world rankings. He has just one top-10 in seven starts this year. “I feel a little bit more prepared, a little bit better, and hopefully that translates into playing the golf course.”

It. Did. Not.

Starting on the 10th, Woods bogeyed the par-5 11th when his tee shot wound up behind a tree. On the par-5 13th, he drove into deep rough, could only advance the ball 100 yards into more deep rough, and then hit his third into a bunker 50 yards short of the green. He didn’t reach the green with his fourth, chipped poorly and two-putted. On the par-5 16th, his tee shot found a creek.

The only time Woods smile on his first nine holes was when he knocked in an 88-foot putt for birdie on the 14th.

There wasn’t much to be happy about on the front nine, either. The par-5s didn’t get him – he birdied the par-5 second from 10 feet and parred the par-5 fifth. But on the par-4 fourth his flew the green with his approach and then, putting from the fringe, he knocked his 32-foot attempt 13 feet past the hole and made bogey.

A poor tee shot on the par-3 eighth led to another bogey.

In all, Woods hit just 7 of 13 fairways, 10 of 18 greens and needed 30 putts. And he did this on a day when the field posted an average score under 70.

Well, at least Woods doesn’t have to worry about the cut – there isn’t one. Starting with Fridays second round, he’ll have three more trips around Sherwood to get his game going in the right direction as he heads to Augusta National.