Royal Liverpool became a walk in the park for Tiger Woods on Thursday and a walk down memory lane for spectators, with the Associated Press commenting in a report posted on CBC Sports that such a performance reminded people of the golfer when he won the British Open the third time.

His great stint at the 143^rd British Open began with a 30-foot birdie from the fringe of the 11th green, the report says. In the next five holes, the AP report says, four birdies got him to 3-under 69, just three shots short of Rory McIlroy's statistics—a good showing for someone who was off the grass for months after back surgery.

This is Woods' first major in 11 months, with just two competitive rounds in the last four months because of the March 31 surgery, USA Today reports.

"I'm only going to get better... I'm getting stronger, I'm getting faster, I'm getting more explosive," Woods said in the AP report. "The ball is starting to travel again."

Woods seemed to be in a rut more than six years, the report notes, missing the Masters and the US Open due to the surgery. Woods is chasing his 15^th major title and his first since winning the 2008 US Open, USA Today says, and his bid to win this Open since he last claimed it in 2006 begins with a performance reminiscent of his 18 under on the same course.

"I felt good about a lot of things I did out there," said Woods in the AP report. The bogeys on his first two holes did not get him worried, USA Today noticed. He would say later that he just got them "out of the way early."

"I've been telling you guys it was so important for me to play at Congressional [Country Club]," USA Today quotes Woods, referring to the Quicken Loans Invitational two weeks ago, which saw him missing the cut.  "The fact [is] that I was able to recover every day, and ... I was stronger, more explosive the more days I played... And those are all positive things."

Woods shot up to his spot in the leaderboard via a birdie putt on the 11^th hole, the report says. That was followed by birdies on the 12^th through the 16^th, thus prompting ESPN to say he can win the oldest golf major. He played smarter, more patient golf, the report said, adding that he repeatedly said he expected to win.

"I need to get everything a little bit better," Woods said, as quoted by USA Today. "That's the case all of time, anyways... Today was totally different. And consequently I shot a better score."