Tiger Woods' pursuit of his sixth career green jacket got off to an up-and-down start Thursday in the first round of the 2023 Masters at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia.

Woods finished with a two-over 74, carding five bogeys and just three birdies.

At the time his round finished, Woods tied for 54th place, nine strokes behind Viktor Hovland, the leader at the time, at seven under.

Dan Rapaport of Barstool Sports praised Woods for battling throughout the day but suggested he was fighting an uphill battle based on some of the scores posted by the top contenders:

Several other fans chimed in on Twitter as well, hyping up Tiger for his determination and importance to the sport of golf:

While fans came out in force to cheer on the 15-time major champion, they didn't have much to get excited about until about midway through the back nine.

The 47-year-old carded three bogeys in his first seven holes and a fourth on No. 11, but sandwiched in between was his best hole of the day.

On the par-five eighth, Woods narrowly missed chipping in for eagle and settled for a tap-in birdie:

It wasn't until the 15th hole that Woods truly got back on track by knocking down a lengthy birdie putt with plenty of break:

Woods left his approach shot on the par-five 15th well short and seemed he would have to settle for another par, but his putter came through in a huge spot.

That make seemed to get Woods back in the zone, as he perfectly located his tee shot on the par-three 16th and sunk his second consecutive birdie putt:

Following a par on No. 17, Woods ended on a sour note, as he hit two shots into bunkers on the par-four 18th and ended up with his fifth bogey of the day.

Tiger has been severely limited by back, knee and leg injuries in recent years, and they seemed to be giving him trouble on the 18th, as he limped his way down the fairway.

Based on Woods' physical state, it was impressive that he was able to play competitive golf throughout the day Thursday even if it wasn't always pretty.

Woods shocked the world in 2019 when he won the Masters, giving him his first major title since 2008, and there is seemingly always hope among fans for a repeat performance when he steps on the course.

That is seeming unlikely at the 2023 Masters, but if he continues battle in the second round like he did in the first, he at least has an opportunity to make the cut and play the weekend.