Tiger Woods hit a 349-yard drive at the brutal par-4 16th hole in the first round of the 2018 Wells Fargo Championship on Thursday. He then hit a big, sweeping hook from 174 yards to 19 feet. To that point, only two golfers had made birdie on the whole during the entire day. Woods looked poised to turn his 1-under number into a 2-under number and really start mixing it up with the leaders on the day.

He rolled the 19-footer four feet past. No problem, though. Clean that up for par and you're 1 under going to the final holes. Woods power-lipped that putt, however, cursed loudly and fell back to even par on the day. This was emblematic of how Woods' first round at Quail Hollow in six years went. 

From tee to green, he was solid. Stingers, draws and a touch around the greens that remain impressive, even if it's not what it used to be. His approach on the par-4 18th out of the sand was an absolute joke of a shot. Human beings are not supposed to be able to do what he did -- and of course he missed the putt for birdie to shoot an even-par 71.

"The greens are very firm," Geoff Ogilvy, who shot a 3-under 68, said on Golf Channel. You have firm green and fliers, it's really hard to hit the green if you miss the fairway. Fairways are a priority."

Tiger hit just six fairways, and yet he hit 13 greens in regulation and picked up three strokes from tee to green on the rest of the field. But the putter let him down throughout. Woods finished outside the top 120 in strokes gained putting, and his touch, which was so impressive through the first six tournaments of the year, left him wanting.

Here's how bad it was for Woods: He made a 27-foot putt and a 17-foot putt for birdie and par respectively and still lost over a stroke to the rest of the field with the flat stick. 

"I hit the ball fine," Woods said on Golf Channel. "I struggled with my speed all day. The greens are firm and springy, but they're putting slow. My feel was off all day. I have to make the adjustments. I struggled making the adjustments today in my feel."

There is reason for optimism, though. If Woods wasn't striking it well, there would be more to be concerned about. Putting is the variable that changes the most from round to round, and Tiger proved on a tough track that played to an average score of 2-over 73 that he can hang with his new swing. If he keeps that locked in on Friday and beyond, the putting will surely come around.

"I feel like I've played my way into playing shape," said Woods. "I've played my way into the rhythm of it. Now I'm just trying to get a little bit better."

This is the type of golf Woods loves -- tough, slogging tracks in which his mind and creativity become an advantage when others are wilting. Woods is just four back of second place after 18 holes and probably should only be one or two down of that group. If he makes up for those lost strokes early on Friday morning when he tees off, he could challenge the leaders going into the weekend.