Chris Baryla of Vernon, B.C., just one shot off the lead after opening round 68

AP

SAN MARTIN, Calif. - Tiger Woods returned from a seven-week break and not much has changed.

Woods went 13 holes between his two birdies Thursday in the Frys.com Open and had to work hard for a 2-over 73. That left him in danger of missing the cut in consecutive starts for the first time in his career.

Woods had not played since missing the cut at the PGA Championship in August. He said the time off at least gave him time to practice and figure out his swing changes, and he was playing 36 holes a day at home in Florida.

On a cool, rainy day at CordeValle, it was a different story.

He was outplayed in his group by UCLA sophomore Patrick Cantlay, who had a 69 which left him just two strokes off the lead. It was his eighth sub-70 score in 17 rounds on the PGA Tour this year.

After making an encouraging start under overcast skies with a birdie at the par-four first, Woods bogeyed the second and third to reach the turn in one-over 36.

He squandered a golden opportunity at the par-three 11th where his birdie putt from four feet slid past the right edge of the cup before he made a total mess of the par-five 12th.

As the rain began to intensify, he double-bogeyed the hole after driving into the left rough and pulling his second shot into a hazard before taking a penalty drop.

Though he birdied the par-five 15th after ending up just short of the green in two shots, he failed to make up any further ground over the closing stretch. 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.

"That's probably one of the worst putting rounds I've ever had," Woods said after missing three putts inside 6 feet while hitting only nine greens. "I can't putt the ball any worse than I did today."

"The rest of the game was not too bad," Woods added. "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."

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.

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

Chris Baryla of Vernon, B.C., is in a group of golfers just one shot off the lead at 3-under after a round of 68. It's his best start since an opening round 67 at the Greenbrier Classic in July.

Matt McQuillan of Kingston, Ont., fighting to climb into the top 125 on the money list, started with a 1-under 70.

David Hearn of Brantford, Ont., and Adam Hadwin of Abbotsford, B.C., playing on a sponsors exemption, both opened with even par 71s while Stephen Ames struggled to a 5-over 76.