SAN MARTIN, Calif. – Anyone expecting a new and improved version of Tiger Woods saw much of the same old thing Thursday.

An early birdie to raise hopes. A sudden tumble. And he couldn’t make a putt.

In his first tournament in seven weeks, Woods went 13 holes between his only two birdies at the Frys.com Open and had a 2-over 73 that put him in danger of missing consecutive cuts for the first time in his career.

“That’s probably one of the worst putting rounds I’ve ever had,” Woods said. “I can’t putt the ball any worse than I did today.”

Texas Open winner Brendan Steele opened with a 4-under 67 on a cool day at CordeValle with a few bursts of showers. He was joined atop the leader board by Briny Baird, Garrett Willis and Matt Bettencourt.

As the first round was finishing, Woods was one shot out of the top 70 and ties that will advance to the weekend.

He had not played since missing the cut at the PGA Championship in August, finishing out of the top 100 for the first time in a major. There was nothing special about his game, although whatever he did right was derailed once he got on the greens. Woods missed three putts inside 6 feet, two of them for birdie. Even toward the end of his round, he froze when he saw a 4-foot par putt on the 16th hole take a 360-degree ride around the edge of the cup before falling.

“The rest of the game was not too bad,” Woods said. “I hit some bad shots, yes. But also, I hit some really good ones. And very pleased at the shots I was hitting most of the day. But I got nothing out of the round on the greens. And whatever momentum I could have gotten by hitting good shots ... you know, I just missed putts.”

He missed a 6-foot birdie attempt at the par-5 ninth, but saved par with a 12-footer – the longest putt he made all day – on the next hole. That appeared to give him a lift, for he stuffed his tee shot on the par-3 11th to 4 feet.

The putt didn’t even touch the hole.

The last time Woods missed consecutive cuts on the PGA Tour was in 1994, when he was an 18-year-old amateur. In fact, he missed his first seven cuts as an amateur. On the PGA Tour, he has missed the 36-hole cut only seven times in his career.

“I need to put together a good round tomorrow and gradually piece my way back into the tournament,” Woods said.

Steele birdied his last two holes for a 31 on the back nine. Baird has made nearly $12 million on the PGA Tour – the most of anyone without having won a tournament – and at least gave himself hope by playing without a bogey.

EUROPEAN: England’s Ross McGowan shot an 8-under 64 to take a one-stroke lead after the first round of the Madrid Masters in Alcala de Henares, Spain. McGowan, who won the 2009 tournament for his lone European Tour title, had 10 birdies – five in a row on Nos. 9-13 – and two bogeys at El Encin Golf Hotel.

Australia’s Brett Rumford, Italy’s Lorenzo Gagli and Spain’s Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano were tied for second. Top-ranked Luke Donald, the winner last year at Real Sociedad Hipica Espanola Club de Campo, opened with a 68.