On one infamous occasion, Tiger Woods’s caddie strode across to a snap-happy fan, ripped a camera from around his neck and threw it into a lake surrounding a green. What he would have done for such unchallenged power yesterday.

After the first round of the WGC-HSBC Champions tournament, the world No 1 reflected on the chaos that goes with being Woods in a country probably more impressed with his celebrity than his golfing prowess and concluded that the Chinese have a lot to learn.

From the moment the American appeared on the 1st tee, it was obvious that he and his partners — Ross Fisher, the Englishman, and Thongchai Jaidee, from Thailand — were in for a long and testing day. The crowds were crushed seven deep, all craning their necks for a look, talking on mobile phones and taking pictures almost at will.

And when Woods was distracted by a fan with a camera during his tee shot at the 1st hole, it set the tone for much of the first nine. “A guy in the grandstand basically did a photo sequence,” Woods said. “I flinched on it and hit it straight to the right.”

Woods’s glare said it all, but this time Steve Williams, his caddie, had no intention of going in among the crowd. When Woods speaks, however, things tend to get done. Day two was expected to be more controlled.

Treading a diplomatic line, Woods said: “The populace has not played golf long enough to understand [what is expected of those outside the ropes]. That takes time. Over time, they get more experience and more people playing the game and really understanding what it is all about.”

Despite the distractions, Woods nursed his ball round in 67 strokes, three off the lead held by Nick Watney, a fellow American. Alongside Woods was Paul Casey, the Englishman, who marked his return to competitive strokeplay after 12 weeks sidelined by a rib injury with an impressive five-under-par first round.

Casey, who played three matches at the Volvo World Match Play Championship in Spain last week, seems to have shaken off some of the rust that afflicted his game. He still feels pain when hitting full out and is nervous playing out of heavy rough — a problem for anybody missing the fairway at an immaculately presented Sheshan International Golf Club.

But where a few months ago the world No 4 could swing with abandon, he has been forced to adapt his game. The characteristic booming drives are barely in evidence, but they have been replaced by a clinical approach and a swing that looks to be about 80 per cent of its normal capacity. In the long run, it could do him a lot of good.

Casey blamed the few mistakes he made yesterday on the instinct to protect his ribs. If he straightens up too soon in his follow-through, he pushes the ball to the right, or will flick at the ball with his hands and it will go to the left. At the 9th, his last, he found rough off the tee and was unable to reach the green with his six-iron approach. “I don’t have the power just yet,” he said. “But there is a way to get around the golf course without that power and I’m doing it quite well.”

He was right to feel satisfied with a back nine of 34 that included two birdies and no dropped shots. Most impressive was his short game. At the 5th he chipped to within a couple of feet to save par and produced a better shot to repeat the feat at the next hole.

He should have birdied the 7th but misread a putt of about six feet. At the 8th, however, he finished two feet from the hole to set up a birdie, and at the last he scrambled another par.

“I did a lot of work on my short game when I couldn’t hit full shots,” Casey said. “Then, as soon as I could hit full shots, that went out of the window because I was so excited to be able to swing the club. At the match play, I neglected the chipping green slightly. That’s always the first thing to go and the last thing to come back. So today was encouraging. I haven’t been on a leaderboard since about May. I’m still not on it yet, but I’m getting close.

Ian Poulter, confidence high after his win in the Singapore Open on Sunday, had a mixed first day. After moving to three under par at the turn, he ran up a string of bogeys on his back nine and finished with a 72, level par.

Fisher, who won the World Match Play Championship at the weekend, had a steady round of 70.