SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. - By the time Tiger Woods made the turn in the opening round of a year that means so much for so many reasons, he had already stubbed one chip and bladed another. Things had gotten so bad that he twice took to using the putter from well off the green, lest he mess up his day even more.He hadnt given up, though, and neither had the fans, who swarmed loudly around the Phoenix Open in record numbers. As he walked the gauntlet between the nines, they pleaded with Woods to do something, anything, to make both his day and theirs a little better.You got this, Tiger! one yelled. Go get em on the back nine! another shouted out.Two brilliant shots that brought back memories of the Tiger of old helped Woods do just that Thursday. They also helped him avert the kind of disaster that might have been felt by the Woods camp long after the PGA Tour leaves the Arizona desert.The 2-over 73 wasnt exactly what Woods had in mind when he decided to begin his year with a trip to a tournament he hasnt played in 14 years. Not on an overcast day where there were low scores to be had on TPC Scottsdale.But it could have been worse, much worse. And for that Woods could be happy, despite a short game that looked more like it belonged to a tourist playing the course, not the greatest player of his era.If he needed something to convince himself he could still play after injuries and yet another swing change, he could hang his hat on playing the last six holes in 3-under par.Its not the first time I have gone through this, Woods said. It takes time. Its just a frustrating thing where I just need to get through competitive rounds. I need to get rounds under my belt and get a feel for it.Its also not the first time Woods has expressed similar thoughts. Anyone who has followed Woods in recent years has heard him say the same kind of things about trusting his swing, and working his way through the rust, but its now been a long seven years since he last won a major championship.And whether Woods will allow himself to believe it or not, his latest problems might be tougher to fix than a missing tooth.Driving the ball sideways is one thing, and Woods did hit it wayward a few times Thursday in only his second competitive tournament in six months. But resorting to hit chips with a 4-iron because you dont trust yourself with a wedge in hand is almost unheard of in the top echelon of professional golf.Im just having a hard time finding the bottom, Woods said. Because of my old pattern, I was so steep on it, that I have a new grind on my wedge and sometimes its hard to trust. This is a similar grind I used to use back in the early 2000s, but its a different grind. Some of my shots were into the green with tight pins, and either Ill flop it or bump it, one of the two. I chose to bump it.Got that? There will be a quiz at the Masters, where tentative chippers dont last long around tightly mown collection areas and undulating greens.If this was an unusual place for Woods to begin his season, it wasnt altogether unfamiliar. He was here under much different circumstances in 2001, where he was coming off three major championship wins in a row and getting ready to go for the Tiger Slam in the Masters.He opened with a 65 that year, but that wasnt the big story. It came in the second round when a remarkable streak of shooting par or better over 52 straight rounds came to an end when Woods struggled to a 73.Few believed what they saw that day, and Woods would go on to win the Masters for his fourth straight major. Hes now won 14 of them, the last coming at Torrey Pines in 2008.Contrast that to this year when the 73 marked the fifth consecutive round on the PGA Tour that Woods hasnt broken par. It was also the first time he opened a year with a score over par since turning pro nearly two decades ago.An iron shot to tap-in eagle on the par-5 13th might give him some hope of better times ahead. So will the drive to 20 feet on the par-4 17th hole.But on this day the only thing resembling the Tiger Woods of old were the huge galleries following him at all times, on a day when an estimated record crowd of 118,461 came out to watch his season debut.If nothing else, Tiger Woods still knows how to draw a crowd.____Tim Dahlberg is a national sports columnist for The Associated Press. Write to him at tdahlberg@ap.org or http://twitter.com/timdahlberg Mike Scott Jersey . -- Jim Furyk was 10 shots worse and right where he wanted to be Saturday in the BMW Championship. Josh Reddick Astros Jersey . 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JOHNS, N.L. -- Michael Hutchinson was relieved to say the first impression he left on IceCaps fans was a good one. Hutchinson made 26 saves in his debut as a starter on home ice to carry the St. Johns IceCaps to a 2-0 win over the Manchester Monarchs on Monday night in American Hockey League action. "I dont think you can picture a better start," he said. "A shutout is nice, but the biggest thing is just getting the win and helping the team move up in the standings ... "I just went out there and played the best I could and gave the team a chance to win the game." IceCaps head coach Keith McCambridge said he knew what to expect from Hutchinson. "Im not surprised, Ive seen him play in Providence in previous years," McCambridge said. "He was outstanding. He gave us a chaance to win the game and he made the saves look easy.ddddddddddddquot; Blair Riley and Andrew Gordon scored for the IceCaps (21-16-3). The IceCaps opened the scoring 13:23 into the first period, when Riley carried the puck around the net, circled out front and ripped a wrist shot top corner from the slot. Gordon scored off a rebound from a Will ONeill slapshot 14:06 into the third period, after Jean-Francois Berube was caught out of position after doing well to make the first save. McCambridge was happy with how his team upped the tempo. "I like the way we were able to play a competitive game and an intelligent three periods," he said. "We played a physical style that allowed us chances to get momentum in the game." Berube finished with 25 saves for the Monarchs (26-12-6). ' ' '