( CNN ) -- Tiger Woods offered glimpses of a return to the form that secured him 14-major championships as he fired an opening round 68 at the Bridgestone Invitational . Playing his first tournament for nearly three months after an injury lay-off , Woods finished day one in Ohio at two-under-par , six behind leader Adam Scott , of Australia . With three birdies and just one bogey Woods looked in good touch in his first competitive action since he dropped out of The Players Championship back in May . After his round he told Sky Sports : `` I felt good today , I hit the ball really flush . The hardest part was to control my distance . It was fun . `` I 've got much more speed and compression through impact and the ball is taking off . I was hitting numbers I have n't hit before . '' Asked what he missed most about being away from the game he replied : `` The competition , by far . `` I 'm right there . Six back , three rounds to go I 'll keep plugging forward and playing my way round the golf course . It 's fun to be walking around pain free . '' He fared much better than his playing partner , British Open champion Darren Clarke , who eagled the eighth hole but slumped to a seven-over round of 77 . Scott is one shot ahead of compatriot Jason Day , who finished the day on seven-under after a bogey-free 63 . American Nick Watney is third on five-under and nine players are a shot back on four-under , including Denmark 's Thomas Bjorn and American Stewart Cink . Phil Mickelson is on three-under . `` I really enjoy playing against the best golfers in the world on the biggest stage , '' Day told the PGA Tour 's official web site . `` I 've always wanted to play on the big stage , and I 'm finally here . I just want to keep the year going in the right direction . I do n't want to go backwards . `` My putter was good all day . It felt like it was a boring kind of a game . It was down the middle , on the green , and every two or three holes was a birdie . '' U.S. Open champion Rory McIlroy , who said on Wednesday he is close to renewing his card on the PGA Tour in America , matched Woods with a round of two-under . On his potential return to the U.S. Tour he said : `` It 's something I 've thought about , especially after winning at Congressional . I 'd like to give it another go . `` Ninety-five percent of me wants to come over here , and it was just making sure everything is in place by next year to make sure that coming over here and playing is as easy as possible logistically , get a place over here and maybe spend three or four months at the start of the year here . '' The world 's number one and two players , English duo Luke Donald and Lee Westwood , finished with opening round scores of 68 and 67 respectively .
Tiger Woods cards a two-under round of 68 on his return to golf . Former world number one sits six shots off the lead at Bridgestone Invitational . TL;DR British Open champion Darren Clarke is joint last on seven-over .