OK, so here we are on the tee at Victoria's 10th hole, a par four, as Tiger - dressed in a fetching purple shirt and dark strides - waits on the tee with Australian playing partners Brett Rumford and Robert Allenby. The weather is overcast and pretty calm - in short, ideal conditions for scoring. The players gets a good round of applause as they are introduced to the gallery, Tiger receiving an especially warm welcome. Perhaps those warnings about spectator heckling were unnecessary. Stick with me, Kyle Sheldon, for the next four or five hours and we'll see how it all pans out for Tiger ...

HOLE 10: It's 7.27 am and Tiger has the honour on this short par-four. He opts for the fairway wood and ... is straight down the middle. A great start to his title defence. Allenby and Rumford follow suit. Interestingly, one of Tiger's playing partner's from Wednesday's pro-am says on Channel 9 that the former world No.1 was in far better form 12 months ago than he was yesterday. We'll see. The crowd is only three deep at this early hour, but continually growing. They'll be wondering: will Tiger's new stack-and-tilt swing stand up this week at Victoria GC? Woods' approach is safely on the middle of the green but he is unable to convert a tricky uphill put to start his round with a birdie, which would have put him in a share of this very early lead.

SCORE: Par 4
RUNNING SCORE: Even

HOLE 11: Another not terribly long par four that has a tight landing area from the tee before an uphill shot to an elevated green. Woods' has negotiated this hole with ease so far and is checking out all angles of his twenty-foot birdie put. The putt falls just short. Woods appears to be reading the greens well for a course he has only played twice before. Both putts so far have fallen only a fraction short. Allenby, by contrast, is having a nightmare and is already two over.

SCORE: Par 4
Running SCORE: Even

HOLE 12: Woods has taken a long iron off the tee on this tricky par four. Foxtel commentators say the more often he can take irons, the better around this tight Victoria Golf Club. Will Tiger be able to control his urges and keep the driver in the bag? Stay tuned. Oops, what this? A blip. Tiger has missed the green with a short iron, his worst shot of the day so far. His long putt from off the green falls short once again. A tricky par putt beckons. Tiger is already starting to look frustrated. He misses that putt and takes a bogey. Oh dear. Needs to regroup. Brett Rumford, meanwhile, scores a birdie to go one under.

SCORE: Bogey 5
Running SCORE: +1

HOLE 13: Tiger has again taken the safe play with an iron off the tee and is safely in the middle of the fairway. A terrific approach with a short iron. Flopped it to the back of the green and spun nicely down the hill for a short birdie putt that would get him back to even. But, aaargh, a timid putt falls short. Those are the ones he normally eats for breakfast. Maybe the greens are starting to play tricks with his mind. And if there's one apsect of his game which has fallen away in 2010 it his ability to hole the clutch putts. Now he's putts like a mortal.

SCORE: Par 4
Running SCORE: +1

HOLE 14: The crowd is starting to build, now five-deep. His first Par 3 of the day and he launches a mid-iron safely into the middle of the green for yet another birdie chance - his fourth in five holes, but none have been successful so far. Is this the moment the crowd have been waiting for to give their man a big cheer? He lines up and .... alas, no, another miss. His birdie putt again goes wide and he has to settle for a par. Allenby, however, gets a shot back with a good birdie two.

SCORE: Par 3
RUNNING SCORE: +1

HOLE 15: Tiger is now through the tough three-hole stretch the commentators liken to Amen Corner at Augusta National. A big comparison! Expect the birdies to start rolling now. A 289m par four awaits, and Tiger decides to play safe and lay-up rather than attack with the driver. That's not what the crowd wants to see. But Tiger's 55-metre chip from the fairway lands only a few feet from the pin. Lovely shot - now for the putt. Only 2.5 metres, with a slight right-to-left curl, but ... Tiger misses to the left! This is starting to really grate on his nerves. He needs to hole a putt - and get his confidence back on the greens. Allenby gets back-to-back birdies to get back to level par. Now Tiger trails both playing partners by a shot! His mood has been soured slightly by a radio-promoted stunt as he left the tee, when two young women, dressed in white tops, skirts and sun visors with their mobile phone numbers on them, called out: ''Call me Tiger!'' A second woman followed with: ''Meet me outside Crown!'' Mmm, our star attraction did not seem overly pleased with that attention.

SCORE: Par 4
RUNNING SCORE: +1

HOLE 16: The crowd is likened to a coiled spring, just ready to unleash its first roar of the day as Tiger plays a crisp iron to the center of the green on a difficult, long, uphill par three. Let's see how he fares here ..... no, the tough right-to-lefter is well off line. Disappointing from Tiger who pulled the putt left despite getting a great read off Allenby's previous putt. The frustrations continue to build for the World No. 2. Needs a spark to get his round going.

SCORE: Par 3
RUNNING SCORE: +1

HOLE 17: Tiger is four shots off the lead as he enters the penultimate hole of his back nine. Tiger crunches his first drive of the day and it is straight down the middle of this long par 5. He then pulls out a long iron and reckons he can reach the green in two with this. That's the Tiger we've come to know. A magnificent shot. On the middle of the green, about eight metres above the hole, and an eagle putt awaits. The shot gets a huge roar. Tiger studies the putt for an eternity and gently knocks it down the hill. Aaargh, another near miss; it just scrapes past the hole. But that's his first birdie of the day as he gets back to level with the card. Maybe that will be the spark his round needs.

SCORE: Birdie 4
RUNNING SCORE: Even

HOLE 18: Tiger has pulled the driver out again. This is another very birdie-able hole - a short par five. But what's this? Oh no...it's gone right and lands in the deep rough. This has become another problem for Tiger this year as he revamps his swing: blocking his driver way right. He has to chip out sideways which leaves him with a mid-iron to the green. Again, he drops his head after hitting the shot. It's gone right - again. These swing changes are obviously taking a while to bed down. A long birdie putt awaits...it looks good. Just short. Good recovery though and he's even par going into the turn.

SCORE: Par 5
RUNNING SCORE: Even

HOLE 1: The quirky, and tiny, par-four opener. Another slightly wayward tee shot from Tiger, this time overshooting the well-bunkered green, but he's not in a bad position back there. Elsewhere Alistair Presnell sinks another birdie to take the lead to five under. Tiger's chip rolls past the pin but a short-ish birdie putt awaits. Woods finally makes a birdie and gets his round into red figures for the first time today. Was that a smile I saw on his face? The sun's out now and all is well with the world. Rumford has got his score to two under, while Allenby remains at level par.

SCORE: Birdie 3
RUNNING SCORE: -1

HOLE 2: Tiger is looking to get onto a birdie streak and a conservative three wood into the middle of the fairway is a good start. A safe green in regulation, but a long birdie putt awaits, he may need binoculars from out there. It falls short, but he sinks the par to stay in the red.

SCORE: Par 4
RUNNING SCORE: -1

HOLE 3: Woods takes another long iron off the tee to avoid the large fairway bunker on the right. The crowd is now enormous. He lines up an iron from the fairway, swings and...what? Stops mid-swing. Something's bugging him. What a terrific golfer, in complete control of his game. He settles over his ball again and produces another beautiful shot to the green. No problems with his irons today; it's just the flat stick and driver causing him grief. The slow putt tracks towards the hole and just lips out. There's a surprise!

SCORE: Par 4
RUNNING SCORE: -1

HOLE 4: A tough tee shot to the well-protected par three awaits, as six large bunkers surround a small green. But Tiger's up to the challenge. Wow! A short iron stops dead only a few feet from the hole. His best approach shot for the day. He easily sinks a birdie putt and goes to two under. Up ahead, Alastair Presnell has taken advantage of the benign conditions by rocketing to seven under but Tiger is well within striking distance.

SCORE: Birdie 2
RUNNING SCORE: -2

HOLE 5: Victoria has certainly turned on the weather today. Clear blue skies and only a light breeze to keep the players comfortable. It's almost as if the weather gods knew Tiger was coming to Melbourne. The conservative approach seems to be working for Woods as he yet again takes iron off the tee and has another comfortable green-in-regulation. The long putt goes past the hole and the nerves will be tested over a tricky three-footer. No trouble, it's in. He's slowly finding his range, and rhythm.

SCORE: Par 4
RUNNING SCORE: -2

HOLE 6: Another safe tee shot, but a long iron into the green awaits. What's this? A poor shot into the left bunker. Just the second green he has missed all day. A loud siren is heard over the course as all the players and spectators stand to attention. It is 11am on Remembrance Day and it is time to pay respect to the fallen soldiers. After a minute's silence - is this a ritual they follow in the States, as well, we wonder - Tiger knocks a nice chip to just a few feet and a safe up-and-down is locked away. Just three holes to go as he confidently swaggers to the next tee. Presnell has bogeyed his final hole - the 9th - to finish at six under. Tiger is now in joint ninth place, just four shots back. Is that a quiet growl we hear?

SCORE: Par 4
RUNNING SCORE: -2

HOLE 7: Tiger has that ball well trained as it stops neatly on the green of the par 3. But the putt goes long and slightly wide - just when we thought he was starting to get the blade working. Woods sinks the return putt for a regulation par. Another Australian, Adam Bland, has joined Presnell in the clubhouse with a 65.

SCORE: Par 3
RUNNING SCORE: -2

HOLE 8: A long bomb down the right side of the narrow fairway would open an approach to the green. But Tiger's three wood doesn't go down the right side, it finds trouble in the fairway bunker. The ball is just sitting under the front lip. How will he get out of this difficult situation? By hitting a nice iron to the front of the green, that's how. It's in another bunker but that's more than respectable from the position he was in, and lie he had. What skill. Tiger is frustrated with his next bunker shot, despite the crowd's applause, and it trickles past the hole. Such a perfectionist. Unfazed, he holes a two-metre putt for par. He stays at two under, the same score as Rumford while Allenby, who birdied the eighth after a scrappy few holes, is at one over.

SCORE: Par 4
RUNNING SCORE: -2

HOLE 9: Woods begins the final hole of the opening round by taking a driver and hitting a neat fade down the right side of the fairway. He can put that club back into his back. From one side of the fairway he takes wood and hits it hard to the opposite side. It's the most aggressive golf seen by Tiger all day and it has landed him in a bunker for the third time in two holes. The crowd cheers their hero as he walks towards his final green. A disappointing trap shot only just lands on the edge of the green, maybe 16 metres from the hole. Don't end the day on a bogey, Tiger. He really hasn't had the blade working today, as we've said, and this lag putt is left well short and wide of the hole, more than two metres away. So that nerve-jangler for a par and a round of two-under 69. He steps up to the ball and ... send it like a tracer bullet straight into the hole. Well done, Tiger, a respectable start in which you've very much kept yourself within striking distance and haven't blown yourself out of contention. (Rumford, alas, has a triple bogey on the 9th to finish at one over - that will disappoint those punters who outlaid on him winning this three-ball. And Allenby also finished at one over, leaving Woods as the winner of this group by three shots!)

SCORE: Par 5
RUNNING SCORE: -2 (69)

Thanks for following us on BPL today. Hope that running coverage has kept you in the picture. Signing off now, KS.