They turned up in their thousands here yesterday in the hope of seeing Tiger Woods weave his own particular brand of magic on his return to strokeplay competition at the WGC-CA Championship. But what the galleries witnessed was a player out of touch and out of form on a course that was there for the taking.

Working on the principle that Woods should never be written off, however, it would not be totally surprising if he went on to win the event for the fourth time in five years. The Blue Monster course at Doral has proved a happy hunting ground for him in the past and if anybody can recover from a lacklustre start — he had a one-under-par round of 71 — then it is the world No 1.

And yet those eight months out of the game after knee surgery look to have taken their toll, in the short term at least. Woods walks a little stiffly and has yet to find that air of invincibility that he normally wears about his shoulders like a cloak. It would be fair to say that he looked more than a little distracted before he set off in the company of Robert Karlsson and Mike Weir — and with the Masters just a few weeks away, he would be right to feel concerned.

Nobody could have predicted, however, that by the end of the first round Woods would be trailing by six shots to the unheralded Jeev Milkha Singh, of India, Prayad Marksaeng, of Thailand, Phil Mickelson, who finished with three birdies on the trot, and Retief Goosen. The leaderboard provided evidence that this course is anything but a monster. There was a good round, too, for Padraig Harrington, who had a welcome return to form with a 66, six under par.

If Woods was subdued (there was not a fist pump to be seen), then so were the galleries — although they briefly woke up when he pulled out his driver at the 16th hole, his seventh, a par-four that is within reach of the longest hitters. It is rare that a player on the tee asks the crowds to move back, but with Woods explaining, “I’m coming right over the top of your heads,” it at least created a buzz.

It was more from embarrassment, then, that Woods thumped the ground with his club when his shot came up well short and wide of the green. It was the professional’s equivalent of a club player waiting for a green to clear, only to scuff the ball 20 yards.

Woods had pronounced himself “ready to win”, but he looks to have plenty of rust to shake off first. A round that included two bogeys and three birdies — one when he hit his only majestic shot of the day at the par-three 15th to within a foot of the hole — would have been regarded as a poor return.

Another player born for the big stage is Rory McIlroy. While some wither in the glare of publicity, he seems to grow. And for those who turned up to watch the 19-year-old Northern Irishman, curious as to what all the fuss was about, he gave an instant answer with an eagle at the 1st, after a drive of around 320 yards and a 200-yard approach shot to within 35 feet of the hole. He went on to finish with a 68, four under par.

One man probably glad of the absence of a large gallery was Henrik Stenson, who had a 69. The Swede hit a wayward drive at the 3rd, his twelfth, his ball finishing in a water hazard on thick mud. Eager not to drop a shot and to protect his clothes, Stenson stripped down to his boxers and his glove, hacked the ball out and finished with a bogey five and his calves covered in gunge.

“Because of the mud I couldn’t really afford to play in any of my clothes as they would have been a real mess down the last six or so holes, so I had no option,” the world No 7 said. “I don’t think I scared too many spectators off the course, hopefully.”

Stenson believes he may have opened a new avenue for sponsorships after his impromptu strip show. “You never know, after this I might have a new endorsement with Playgirl [magazine] or something like that.”

Oliver Wilson, who is beginning to make waves on the tour, had an excellent round. Coming to the 18th tee, the Englishman was on seven under par, but had to settle for a 67 after finding water and dropping two shots. There were rounds of 69 for Luke Donald and Ian Poulter, and 71 for Paul Casey, Lee Westwood and Ross Fisher.

Richard Finch had a 72, Justin Rose a 73 and Darren Clarke a 74.