Woods' opening-round 70 includes 35 putts By Rex Hoggard Jan 26, 2012 7:02 AM ET ABU DHABI ?In Australia it was a tip from Steve Stricker that set Tiger Woods right on the greens. He may want to place a call to whatever deer stand Stricker is holed up in for a follow-up after Thursday's opening round at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship. Woods hit 17 of 18 greens on a calm, cool morning, needed 35 putts and signed for an opening 2-under 70 to begin his 2012 campaign that could have been much better had a few more putts dropped. Photos Abu Dhabi Woods missed birdie attempts from 5 and 3 feet at Nos. 13 and 18, respectively, to begin his round and didn't miss a green, or make a putt over 4 feet, the rest of the way to finish three strokes behind Rory McIlroy, whom he was paired with on Thursday, and Robert Karlsson. In Australia the problem was mechanical, but on Day 1 in Abu Dhabi the issue appeared to be material. . "Today I hit a lot of good putts, but I just didn't read them well at all," Woods said. I really struggled with the speed and the reads. On some of the putts the grain snagged it hard and on other putts it didn't move at all. I just had a hard time seeing it. I could see it at the hole, but I had a hard time seeing the blades and how they are laying.? Woods also struggled on the greens at the Australian Open and early in the week at the Presidents Cup late last season, and that led Stricker to offer his frequent Ryder and Presidents Cup partner an impromptu tip. "He just had me move the ball back, basically,"said Woods, who continues to use the same Nike Method putter he finished last season with. "I was undercutting it and I couldn't quite cover the golf ball like I wanted to, so he said just move it back a quarter of a ball. I did and I would start making the contact that I would want to make.? About the only putts he made at December's Chevron World Challenge came on the 71st and 72nd holes to clip Zach Johnson by a stroke and a textbook ball-striking round on Thursday, not to mention perfect scoring conditions, was derailed by pedestrian putting. In short, if Gareth Maybin, your leader for much of the morning, putted for Woods on Thursday he would have posted 65. Instead, he's three back and searching for answers. "The problem is I just play (the ball) too far forward," he said. "(Stricker) got me in a position and when I got to the World Challenge I just kept doing the same thing. I got back to my natural alignment with the ball back from where I had it. I was able to start seeing my lines.? Still, if Woods was overly concerned with his 35-putt effort there were no signs of alarm as he bolted the property just past noon and even McIlroy, who rolled in numerous putts, including a winding 40-footer from off the green at the eighth hole for birdie, admitted he has been confused by Abu Dhabi's grain in the past. Woods' opening-round 70 includes 35 putts