ST. ANDREWS, Scotland — Tiger Woods took 32 putts Thursday with the new putter he brought to St. Andrews. That's more than he averaged two weeks ago with his old one.

Not that it seemed to bother Woods. Nor did it keep golf's No. 1 attraction from one of his best rounds of his post-scandal comeback.

Woods opened his quest for a St. Andrews three-peat with a 5-under-par 67 — one shot off his season best and four behind leader Rory McIlroy.

"You had to go get it," said Woods, who finished the day tied for eighth. "I felt like I did a pretty good job of that today."

Woods was poised for a bogey-free trip around the Old Course until No. 17, where a drive into thick rough left of the fairway left him unable to salvage par.

"I was trying to hit a cut (shot off the tee) and just didn't trust it," Woods said.

Even so, it was just one shot off the third-round 66 that moved him to the fringes of contention at last month's U.S. Open. Only twice has he gone lower at St. Andrews, and those were 66s as well.

As for the new putter, Woods wasn't necessarily happy with its performance when a couple of early birdie opportunities didn't fall. But he felt better after a string of three-straight birdies on Nos. 12-14.

"I'm very pleased with it," he said. "(The ball) comes off faster, and these greens are the slowest I've seen in a long time."

That model replaced his Scotty Cameron putter, which contributed to 13 major titles and 50 other PGA Tour victories.