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But he found water at the 15th to record a double-bogey, only to hole a long putt at the last for birdie.

The 72, however, was Woods’ best first round here since 2002, and two shots better than last year’s effort when he won the fourth of his Green Jackets.

In 12 visits to the Masters, Woods has never beaten 70 in the first round but the 10-time major-winner considered himself unlucky to have carded only a 72 this time.

“I was shocked,” said Woods. “I thought I played really well, actually. I hit a bunch of good shots.”

The best was his 163-yard eight-iron at the 14th for eagle, but he followed that by chipping his third shot at the long 15th into the lake in front of the green.

“Somebody left a pretty big divot there,” he said. “I couldn’t get at the ball and one of my options was to rip a seven-iron into the grandstand. But I fatted it into the water.”

The birdie at the last certainly improved his mood and having scored 76, 75 and 74 in his last three Masters first rounds, he is still very much in contention.

“I thought I could have gotten under par but it just didn’t happen,” he said. “Still, I’m in good shape. Better than it was last year.

“The course is playing really tough. We haven’t played it like this in a while, where it has been dry. It’s playing really fast.

“It plays more like a US Open right now than it does a Masters.

“With the wind supposed to blow 20mph tomorrow, it should make things interesting.”

Augusta National has been stretched to 7,445 yards since last year’s tournament, making it the second longest course in major championship history.

The 48-year-old Englishman carded a seven-over 79 and now faces an uphill battle to make the cut for the weekend.

Faldo, whose 1996 win here was the last by a British player, started with a bogey at the lengthened par-four 1st.

He played par golf for the next seven holes but double-bogeyed the 9th and 11th. Another shot went on the 15th and he then bogeyed the last.

“I need to be playing a lot more and you need a lot of self confidence to play this place - I ain’t got the guns for this place,” said Faldo, who also won here in 1989 and 1990.

“If you mis-hit your drives a little bit you’ve got 200 (yards) to the hole and, trying to land it, you go over the green.

“I can’t hole the putts at the moment and it makes life very difficult.”

Matching Faldo’s 79 was another three-time Augusta winner, South Africa’s Gary Player. Unfortunately for Faldo, Player is 22 years his senior and the oldest man in the field at 70.

But as disappointed as Faldo will be with his first-round effort, he will still feel better about his chances of making the weekend than David Duval will about his.

The former world number one had a dreadful day, crawling back to the clubhouse after a 12-over-par 84.

The 34-year-old American’s career has gone into freefall since winning the 2001 Open at Royal Lytham and he has failed to make the cut in his last three appearances at Augusta.

A runner-up here in 1998 and 2001, Duval opened with bogeys at the 1st, 3rd and 6th. Worse was to follow.

He then double-bogeyed the 8th to reach the turn in 41. Then the wheels really came off.

Another double at 10 was followed by five more shots lost over the next four holes. Thankfully, the former Ryder Cup star managed to stem the flow of dropped shots and parred the last four holes.

His total, however, was his worst score in 10 Masters appearances, “beating” the 83 he scored in the second round in 2003.

Other big-name players to struggle were Augusta native Charles Howell III, who carded an 80, and Ireland’s Ryder Cup hero Paul McGinley, who managed a 78.

McGinley had a tough time from the moment he double-bogeyed the 1st. After finding the trees with his drive, he went for a small gap in the pines but hit a trunk and watched as his ball shot across the 9th fairway.

“I thought it was worth the gamble, but my short game was appalling and birdie chances are a lot more limited than when I was last here,” he said.

Ian Woosnam, Europe’s Ryder Cup captain, was one shot better off after a 77, but he lost his head-to-head battle with playing partner Tom Lehman - the American Ryder Cup captain carded a 76.

“The course is not quite the same as ‘91 (his winning year) and my body’s not either. A 77 is not the end of the world, but it’s a tough old slog out there,” said Woosnam.

Former Masters champions Ray Floyd and Tom Watson both shot 79, one better than British Amateur champion Brian McElhinney, from County Donegal, and Scotland’s 1987 Masters champion Sandy Lyle.