LA JOLLA, California, Jan 27 (Reuters) - Tiger Woods drove the ball wildly but hit some sensational recovery shots to slightly improve his position halfway through the third round at the Farmers Insurance Open on Saturday.
Woods found the fairway with his tee shot only once, and some of his misses were by wide margins as he picked up three birdies and two bogeys on his outward half at Torrey Pines.
He began his inward nine at two under par, 10 strokes behind leaders Ryan Palmer and Luke List.
A huge gallery watched 14-times major champion Woods, who started his round at the 10th hole on the South course, where he has won eight times.
His putter was much hotter than his driver. Four times he holed putts from eight feet or longer, including an 11-footer at the par-five 18th, which conjured up memories from a decade ago.
Woods sank a putt from much the same distance at the 72nd hole of the 2008 U.S. Open to get into a playoff which he won.
This week he is playing his first official tournament since a spinal fusion last April.
Palmer, meanwhile, was joined at the top of a crowded leaderboard by fellow American List. Both had completed seven holes.
Australian former world number one Jason Day charged within one stroke of the lead approaching the turn, while Swede Alex Noren and Americans Michael Kim and Tony Finau were also 10 under.
Reporting by Andrew Both, editing by Ed Osmond