ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates — No momentous shots for Tiger Woods. No bogeys, either.

The 14-time major winner opened his 2012 season with a solid first round Thursday at the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship, shooting a 2-under 70 that left him three strokes behind co-leader Rory McIlroy, his playing partner.

“Hit the ball well all day today. It was a good ball-striking round,” Woods said. “I had a hard time reading the greens out there. The greens were pretty grainy and I just had a hard time getting a feel for it. Toward the end I hit some pretty good putts but overall I got fooled a lot on my reads.”

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