Woods blogs about Masters, Quail Hollow

Tiger Woods "felt great" to get back to competitive golf at the Masters and was surprised at the positive reaction he encountered from fans at Augusta, he said in a blog post published at TigerWoods.com on Friday.

Woods, who returned to the tour after stepping away from golf for 144 days amid a notorious sex scandal, shot 68-70-70-69 at the Masters and tied for fourth place. Woods congratulated tournament winner Phil Mickelson and wished his family "good health from now on."

Though Woods acknowledged he wasn't on his game at Augusta, he said it was easy to back get into groove of tournament play.

"As far as competing, it was just like riding a bike again," Woods said in the post. "Once the tournament came, everything felt normal, and I fell into my old rhythm and routine. I didn't even think about it; it just happened. My body knew what to do."

He said the fan reaction, which included rounds of applause and words of encouragement wherever he went, was "absolutely incredible from Monday through Sunday."

"I tried and wanted to interact with as many fans as I could," Woods wrote. "One little girl gave me a letter on the third tee, which was awfully sweet. I knew a few people in the gallery, including my mom, which was nice."

The biggest criticism he received was for bad language he used on the course. Woods reiterated his apology, saying, "I'm not perfect."

Woods' next test will come at the end of April at Quail Hollow, a tournament he won in 2007. He called the Charlotte course one of his favorite on the tour.

"It's traditional, right in front of you, difficult, and you have to shape shots both ways," Woods said.

Woods also committed to the Players Championship and the AT&T National this week.

"The PGA Tour asked me to commit earlier if I could help the tournaments with their planning and security," Woods said. "I completely understand and know they're trying to help out me and the other players. Whenever possible, I will continue to do this going forward."

Woods has reason to be confident going into Quail Hollow. He said in the blog that he double-eagled the par-5 17th hole at Isleworth Country Club and shot a 63 with a friend.

"My game is improving," he said.