Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy and Jon Rahm in contention at Genesis Invitational

Tiger Woods (right) teed off alongside close friend Rory McIlroy (left)

Tournament host Tiger Woods closed with three successive birdies as he returned to competitive golf with a two-under 69 at the Genesis Invitational.

Woods has not played a tour-level event since the Open Championship in July, where he failed to make the cut.

The American, 47, is five shots behind joint leaders Keith Mitchell and Max Homa at the Riviera Country Club.

Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy, hoping to return to world number one, finished his round three off the lead.

A first triumph in the California tournament - which is one of the PGA Tour's 'elevated' events featuring an increased prize fund of $20m (£16.6m) - would return McIlroy to the top of the rankings regardless of current incumbent Scottie Scheffler's position.

A top-three finish could be enough depending on the final positions of Scheffler and Spain's Jon Rahm, who is third in the rankings.

In a bogey-free round, McIlroy birdied the first and last, but could only pick up further shots at the 11th and 14th in recording an opening-round 67.

Rahm finished his round in third place, one shot off the lead, following a round that featured eight birdies and two bogeys, while Scheffler's opening 70 included three bogeys in five holes.

Birdies on the final two holes moved him back into contention, ending on one under.

Woods, who badly injured his right leg and foot in a car accident two days after this tournament in 2021, said he retained the self-belief to win big events.

"I was able to fight back and get it going, it was a nice finish," he said.

"That's the only reason why I tee it up. There will come a point in time when I can't do this anymore, but right now I feel like I still can, given the right golf course.

"There's nothing like game time, the feeling of the butterflies and trying to calm all that stuff down.

"[With] the adrenaline, the ball goes further. I had to dial all that back in."

Woods has won a joint record 82 PGA Tour titles, tied with Sam Snead, but he has never won at the Riviera Country Club in 13 previous attempts.

At the head of the field, Homa, winner of the event in 2021, picked up shots on four successive holes from the seventh, though was only level par for the final five. Mitchell came home in 31, including birdies on the final two holes.

American trio Harris English, Matt Kuchar and Collin Morikawa are joint fourth, two shots behind the leaders.

A handful of players complete their first rounds on Friday after darkness ended play early on Thursday.