The Associated Press

SAN DIEGO - A soupy fog made Tiger Woods wait four hours before he could tee off Thursday in the Buick Invitational.

Then, a mixture of sun, clouds and rain caused him to change clothes seven times over nine holes. Worse, he hit only two fairways and muffed two chips by the time the first round was suspended.

This isn't how he envisioned his return to the PGA Tour.

Out of competition for two months because of knee surgery, Woods showed a little rust and a lot of frustration in the two hours he spent on soggy Torrey Pines. He was at 1-under par and will return today to play a shot from under a tree in the rough.

Welcome back, Tiger.

"On a bright, sunny day like today? Oh, yeah," he deadpanned.

Aaron Oberholser was at 6-under par through 16 holes, although none of the 156 players completed the round. The delays totaled four hours because of fog that made it difficult to see a couple of par 3s along the Pacific Ocean.

Even in the misty conditions, fans saw what they wanted - the world's No. 1 player back at work.

The gallery crammed around the first tee and stood elbow-to-elbow on a clubhouse balcony to get a glimpse of Woods, who had surgery Dec. 12 on his left knee.

It took awhile to see the kind of play they were expecting.

Woods' opening tee shot was still climbing into the white shroud when Woods extended his right arm and yelled, "Fore!" as his ball sailed into the trees.

Doctors told him the best thing he could do for his knee was to avoid the trees and sidehill lies, but Woods got a little of both on the first hole. He wound up missing the green to the right with a 3-wood, flubbing a chip from deep rough and settling for par.

Woods didn't appear to have any problem with his knee, even crouching for a long time to study the line of his putts.

Woods' knee should get a real test today. He will have to finish his nine holes in the morning, then play his second round on the tougher South Course.

Skip Kendall was at 5-under with two holes remaining, while the group at 4 under included Darren Clarke of Northern Ireland, who aced No. 3 on the North Course.

Phil Mickelson and Pat Perez, who both grew up playing Torrey Pines, were at 3-under.

PGA Tour rules official Mark Russell said players would resume the first round at 7:30 a.m., local time, although that won't be easy.

The practice range is small at Torrey Pines, and even though officials plan to erect lights in the morning, only about 40 players can hit balls at the same time.

Buick Invitational

Thursday At San Diego - Torrey Pines Golf Courses

South Course, 7,208 yards, par 72

North Course, 6,874 yards, par 72

Purse: $4.5 million

First Round of suspended play

Arron Oberholser	-6	16
Skip Kendall	-5	16
Jonathan Kaye	-4	17
Dennis Paulson	-4	16
Briny Baird	-4	13
Darren Clarke	-4	13
Cameron Beckman	-4	13
Patrick Sheehan	-4	12
Larry Mize	-4	10
Marco Dawson	-4	9
Pat Perez	-3	17
Kirk Triplett	-3	16
Joey Sindelar	-3	16
Brett Quigley	-3	14
Matt Gogel	-3	14
J.P. Hayes	-3	14
Phil Mickelson	-3	13
Fred Couples	-3	13
John Morgan	-3	12
Dean Wilson	-3	12
Gavin Coles	-3	12
Aaron Barber	-3	10
Spike McRoy	-3	8

JOHNNIE WALKER CLASSIC: Ernie Els roared to the top of yet another leaderboard, shooting an 8-under-par 64 to take a one-stroke lead in Perth, Australia.

Els, seeking his fourth victory of the year, had thoughts about breaking 60 after playing his first nine holes in 7-under 29 and reaching 8-under with a birdie on No. 1.

"When I birdied No. 1, my 10th hole, to move to 8-under, I must admit I was thinking some silly stuff there," Els said. "It was just for a split second and I came down to earth on 11, making bogey there. That settled those silly thoughts."

Els' 64 was just one stroke off the course record, set last year by South African compatriot Retief Goosen in his victory on the Lake Karrinyup Country Club layout.

England's David Lynn opened with a 65, and Australia's Terry Price followed with a 66.

Els spent last week vacationing in Bali after overcoming a 10-stroke deficit in the final two rounds to successfully defend his Heineken Classic title at Royal Melbourne. The 1997 Johnnie Walker winner has three victories this year and four in his last five events. He has 10 worldwide titles since teaming with Goosen to take the World Cup in November 2001.

Johnnie Walker Classic

Thursday at Lake Karrinyup Country Club, Perth, Australia

Purse: $1.68 million

Yardage: 7,011; Par: 72

First Round

Ernie Els, South Africa	35-29-64
David Lynn, England	32-33-65
Terry Price, Australia	35-31-66
Chris Downes, Australia	34-33-67
Paul McGinley, Ireland	33-34-67
Peter O'Malley, Australia	36-31-67
Ian Woosnam, Wales	35-32-67
Brett Rumford, Australia	36-31-67
Arjun Singh, India	35-33-68
Jamie Donaldson, Wales	36-32-68
Raphael Jacquelin, France	33-35-68
Jean-Francois Remesy, France	35-33-68
Paul Sheehan, Australia	33-35-68
Stephen Leaney, Australia	35-33-68
Nick Faldo, England	33-35-68
Craig Parry, Australia	34-34-68
Justin Rose, England	34-34-68
Andre Stolz, Australia	36-32-68
Thomas Bjorn, Denmark	32-36-68
David Smail, New Zealand	35-33-68