BETHESDA, Md. (AP) — Tiger Woods was back on the PGA Tour for the first time in more than three months Thursday and said he felt “fantastic.”

He was talking about his back, not his game.

One day into his most recent return from injury, that’s what mattered to him.

Woods opened with two straight bogeys, made five more bogeys in a seven-hole stretch around the turn at tough Congressional and finally found his groove late in the opening round of the Quicken Loans National for a 3-over 74.

Woods was tied for 83rd — only 19 players had a higher score — and he will have to score better Friday if he wants to avoid missing the cut for the first time in two years.

“I made so many little mistakes,” Woods said. “So I played a lot better than the score indicated.”

Congressional had a lot to do with that.

Two weeks after a U.S. Open that had no rough, Congressional made it feel like one. Any shot just off the fairway was buried, making it difficult for even the powerful players to reach the green on some of the longer par 4s.

Greg Chalmers finished with three straight birdies for a 66 and a one-shot lead over Ricky Barnes and Freddie Jacobson. Defending champion Bill Haas, Patrick Reed, U.S. Open runner-up Erik Compton and Tyrone Van Aswegen shot 68. Compton birdied his last four holes.

“I didn’t think it was easy at all,” Chalmers said. “I played really well, and I think anybody who plays really well can shoot a low score. You just have to be coming out of the fairway, and I didn’t that the majority of the time today.”

Only 26 players in the 120-man field broke par.

This day, however, was all about Woods.

He has been golf’s biggest draw since he turned pro in 1996 and accumulated 79 wins on the PGA Tour and 14 majors. He won the last two times he played Congressional, in 2009 and 2012.

Woods looked about the same as he has all year. He gave away shots with his short game, with some ordinary chips and not making as many putts as he once did.