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NASSAU, Bahamas -- Not only did Tiger Woods return to golf Thursday, he returned to being Tiger.Just not for long.Hardly looking like a player who had not competed in 466 days, Woods ran off three straight birdies with a variety of shots and was tied for the lead in the Hero World Challenge as he approached the turn.Three shots in the bushes, one shot in the water and a few fits of anger sent him toward the bottom of the pack. A pair of double bogeys over the final three holes ruined an otherwise impressive return, and Woods shot 40 on the back nine at Albany Golf Club and had to settle for a 1-over 73.He was in 17th place in the 18-man field. Only Justin Rose had a higher score.Even so, Woods has reason to be encouraged. After taking off 15 months to recover from two back surgeries, he felt no pain or limitations. His misses were not big, just costly. And he was playing again.It could have been something really good, Woods said. I got off to a nice, solid start and made a few mistakes there. I didnt play the par 5s very well in the middle part of the round and consequently, got it going the wrong way. ... But all in all, I feel pretty good. Im looking forward to another three more days.He was nine shots behind J.B. Holmes, who opened with an 8-under 64 and had a one-shot lead over Hideki Matsuyama, with U.S. Open champion Dustin Johnson at 66.Curiosity was greater than expectations for Woods, who was coming off the longest hiatus of his golfing life. Plagued by back problems since 2013 when he was No. 1 in the world, he finally shut it down after tying for 10th in the Wyndham Championship on Aug. 23, 2015, and then going through two back surgeries.He was in so much pain last year there were times he wondered he had played his last tournament.With high anticipation, he tugged his opening tee shot into the rough on the left edge of a bunker and gouged that out to 15 feet for par. Just like that, it all started to feel as though he had never been away.By the time I hit my tee shot on the second hole, I had already gotten into the flow of the round, Woods said. Thats something that for me, when Ive taken layoffs and taken breaks, its how quickly can I find the feel of the round? To not play in 15, 16 months and get it on the second hole is nice.He also knew that with only a stiff tropical wind behind him on three of the par 5s, scores would be low.For a short time, Woods seemed up to the task. He hit a 5-iron from 231 yards just over the green and passed his first test, a 30-yard pitch-and-run and that checked slightly and rolled out to a few feet from the hole for a birdie . He faced a more difficult pitch up the slope on the next hole and hit a chunk-and-run to 3 feet.His confidence kept building -- the flop shot from 40 yards to 5 feet for birdie on the par-5 sixth, the wedge to 5 feet for birdie on the seventh, and a 6-iron he struck so well on the par-3 eighth that he was asking for perfection. One yard! One yard! he said as the ball was in the air, and then settled 2 feet away.At that point he was tied with Holmes.But he flubbed a pitch on the par-5 ninth and made bogey. Two holes later, he flared an iron from the sandy waste area into a bush and had to take a penalty shot, making another bogey on a par 5. Woods was still hanging around in the middle of the pack when he hit 7-iron to 12 feet on the par-5 15th and two-putted for birdie.And then it all fell apart.Froom the middle of the 16th fairway, he pulled his approach and dropped the club as it sailed into a bush. He had to play that backward to the fairway, pitched a wedge some 30 feet by and made double bogey. And then on the 18th, he pulled his driver and immediately slammed the club into the turf as he watched for the splash.His pitch hit the pin -- it was too strong, anyway -- and he missed from 20 feet for another bogey.Just made some really silly mistakes, mistakes I dont normally make, Woods said. But I havent played in a while. Unfortunately, I made those mistakes. I can clean that up. Weve got three more days. Wind is supposed to pump on the weekend, and Ill be playing a little bit better.Nike Shoes From China . Still, Brewers manager Ron Roenicke thought taking him out before the fifth inning was an unusual move. "Im looking up at the board and hes got two hits given up and one run, and Im taking him out after the fourth inning," Roenicke said. Clearance Nike Shoes From China . They hope to persuade the other team owners and commissioner Roger Goodell to put pressure on Redskins owner Daniel Snyder to drop the nickname they find offensive. "Given the way the meeting transpired," Ray Halbritter, an Oneida representative and leader of the "Change the Mascot Campaign," said Wednesday, "it became somewhat evident they were defending the continued use of the name. https://www.nikeshoeschina.us/ . -- Derrick Rose shook off poor shooting early to hit clutch shots late and Carlos Boozer had 20 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Chicago Bulls to a 104-95 preseason victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday night. Nike Shoes From China Outlet . -- Nathan Pancel scored twice as the Sudbury Wolves defeated the North Bay Battalion 4-2 on Saturday in Ontario Hockey League action. Wholesale Nike Shoes From China . Robinson finished with 17 points, all but two in the second half, and Lawson had 14 after halftime and finished with a game-high 11 assists as the Nuggets handed Dallas its first home loss in eight games this season. J.J. Hickson led Denver with 22, and Kenneth Faried added 10 points and 10 rebounds.Purdue interim coach Gerad Parker sees a different bounce in his players steps.The staff has picked up the pace at practice, gotten creative and urged players to enjoy the rest of this season. On Saturday, against Northwestern, everyone will find out if it makes a difference for a team that has lost three straight since a rare midseason coaching change.Theyve been through some tough stuff, and we have as coaches, too, especially the guys that have been here throughout, Parker said, referring to the past several years. So what is the sense in feeling sorry for ourselves and not having fun with this staff and these players for the last three weeks?Since the firing of Darrell Hazell last month, Purdue has shown some spark by building halftime leads three times only to blow those leads in the second half. The Boilermakers (3-6, 1-5 Big Ten) are one loss away from knowing they will finish another season without a bowl bid.Northwestern (4-5, 3-3) , meanwhile, is trying to play itself into postseason position after losing two in a row. But coach Pat Fitzgerald isnt writing off the Boilermakers.Very impressed with how theyre playing since the change, which could have turned the team into a negative, Fitzgerald said. I think although their record isnt positive I think theyre playing very hard, winning all three games at halftime, playing with a lot of passion and emotion.But can an attitude adjustment help turn things around in West Lafayette?Parker, who is still seeking his first win, believes it will.Weve still got three games left, plenty to play for, going down the stretch and finish with something to be proud of, Parker said. There are a lot of teams fighting to be bowl eligible and have something to finish on.Here are some other things to watch Saturday:CARRS CATCHESNorthwestern receiver Austin Carr has wreaked havoc on opposing secondaries all seasson.dddddddddddd Hes already become the schools first 1,000-yard receiver in five years. And after shredding Wisconsins defense for 12 catches and 132 yards last week, the Big Ten leader in receptions (70), yards receiving (1,010) and TD catches (10) has a better matchup.DEFENSIVE DILEMMAPurdues defense hasnt just been bad the past two weeks. Its been battered. The Boilermakers gave up a Ross-Ade Stadium record 62 points to Penn State two weeks ago and 43 more points at Minnesota last week. Those two games have put Purdue in the Big Tens basement of scoring defenses (37.8 points).HISTORIC RUNRB Justin Jackson is chasing history this weekend as he tries to become the first Northwestern player to rush for 1,000 yards three times. Jackson needs 90 yards to achieve the feat, and it certainly looks doable against a defense allowing 248.3 yards per game. Jackson has rushed for 147 yards and 116 yards in his first two games against Purdue.OH-FOR-THREEThe Boilermakers have lost the last three by a combined total of 63 points. Even worse, all three losses were by double digits. But this might be Parkers best chance so far. Purdues previous opponents -- Nebraska, Penn State and Minnesota -- have a combined record for 21-6. Northwestern is the first team with a sub-.500 record Parker will face.LOOK OUTPurdue faces a daunting challenge against Northwestern DE Ifeadi Odenigbo. He leads the Big Ten with eight sacks and earlier this season became the first Northwestern payer to record multiple sacks in consecutive games. If Purdue really wants to check out Odenigbo, it can plug in the tape from the Iowa game. Odenigbo set a single-game school record with four sacks that day.---More AP college football: www.collegefootball.ap.org . ' ' '