AUGUSTA, Ga. -- Tiger Woods is under par following the first round of a major championship for the first time in five years.

He's also on the leaderboard at the Masters.

Woods broke par on the opening day at Augusta National for just the ninth time in 22 starts, shooting a 2-under-par 70 that left him in a tie for 11th, four shots back of leaders Bryson DeChambeau and Brooks Koepka.

The last time Woods shot under par during the first round of a major was at the 2014 Open, where he shot 69 at Hoylake.

"I felt like I played well, and I did all the things I needed to do today to post a good number,'' Woods said. "I drove it well, hit some good iron shots, speed was good on the greens. And it was tricky, the winds as of right now it puffs up, it goes down, it switches directions, and it's typical of this golf course, it just kind of swirls out there, and it's hard to get a bead on exactly what it's doing at all times.''

Woods made four birdies and two bogeys, the last coming at the par-4 17th when he found the trees off the tee and could not get up and down from the left front of the green.

That denied him a chance at just his second opening round in the 60s at Augusta. The only time he has been under 70 in the first round was in 2010, when he shot 68.

And yet, three of his four victories -- 1997, 2001 and 2002 -- came after opening the tournament with a 70.

The good news for Woods is nobody went crazy low on a day that seemed ripe for scoring, with soft conditions, warm temperatures and manageable wind.

"I'm sort of surprised,'' said pre-tournament favorite Rory McIlroy, who made five birdies but bogeyed his last two holes to shoot 73. "I'm sort of surprised that there hasn't been lower scores out there. It's soft. The greens are sort of slow. It's there for the taking, and I'm surprised someone hasn't run off.''

Tiger Woods had a solid opening round at the Masters on Thursday, shooting a 2-under-par 70 at Augusta National. AP Photo/David J. Phillip

Several players who had late tee times made runs in the afternoon, including three-time major champion Koepka -- who missed last year's Masters because of a wrist injury and has won three major championships since his last appearance at Augusta National.

Woods, 43, is making his 22nd Masters appearance, but just his third since 2013 because of multiple back surgeries. In his first Masters in three years in 2018, he tied for 32nd.

But he contended at each of the past two major championships last year, including a second place at the PGA Championship to Koepka. And he posted his 80th PGA Tour victory in September a few hours down the road in Atlanta at the Tour Championship.

Woods has struggled with slow starts and has yet to shoot an opening round in the 60s this year. He started slowly again Thursday, although he birdied the second hole before missing a 5-footer for par at the fifth and a 4-footer for birdie at the sixth. He had another chance for a birdie at the eighth from 9 feet but was unable to convert, finally getting one to drop at the ninth to shoot a front-side 35.

After a two-putt birdie from 50 feet at the par-5 13th, Woods made an impressive birdie at the par-4 14th, where his approach from the trees stopped 25 feet away and he curled in an unlikely birdie putt.

At 3 under, that marked the lowest Woods had ever been through 14 holes of his opening round of the Masters.

But he couldn't take advantage of a big drive at the par-5 15th, knocking his approach over the green and having to scramble for par.

"I had 231 [yards] and I hit a 4 iron that flew 242,'' Woods said. "And then the next shot was probably the hardest shot I had all day. It was up on a root and I had to play short, I laid up on my chip to make sure I didn't catch the root and blade it in the water. So I laid up with a chip, had an easy little up and down from there and was able to move on with par.''

Woods let a few opportunities get away, particularly the sixth, eighth and 15th holes. But he seemed content with at least being in the mix.

"It's not a bad start,'' Woods said "I've only shot under 70 one time, but I've shot 70 [three of the] four times that I have won here. So we still have a long way to go. Tee off late tomorrow and the wind's supposed to be up, so I have my work cut out for me the rest of the week and so does everyone else.''

Woods begins the second round at 1:49 p.m. ET on Friday with Jon Rahm, who shot 69, and Haotong Li, who shot 72.