Shrugging off strong and gusty winds on an unusually warm winter's day next to the Pacific Ocean, he started his round at the 10th hole at Torrey Pines.
From the 14th hole, he went birdie, bogey, birdie, bogey, birdie to improve to four under par overall at the turn.
After missing a 10-foot birdie chance at the first hole, he lashed a 350-yard drive to within 40 yards of the cup, before flipping a delicate, downwind wedge shot to six feet.
He guided the delicate putt home for another birdie, moving to five under and into a tie for 19th.
Woods, 42, is playing his first official tournament since undergoing a spinal fusion last April.
The 14-times major champion has on the whole bettered expectations this week, a little rusty at times but showing that his body is healthy again and that better things probably lie ahead as he gets back his tournament sharpness.
At the top of the leaderboard, Swede Alex Noren and American J.B. Holmes were tied at 11 under after two holes, one stroke ahead of American Ryan Palmer.
(Reporting by Andrew Both; Editing by Clare Fallon)
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