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Tiger carded six birdies and just one bogey in his first round at Sheshan.
Twice a runner-up in the tournament, Woods was an early back-nine starter with Ross Fisher and Thongchai Jaidee. He parred the first four holes, then broke through with a six-foot birdie putt at the par-5 14th. He added a four-foot birdie at the par-4 16th and made the turn in 2-under 34.
After saving par at the par-4 first hole, Woods birdied the par-5 second. His second shot wound up pin-high, right of the green, but Woods hit a beautiful flop shot within a foot of the hole.
He also birdied the par-4 third hole, knocking his approach shot 10 feet behind the hole. Woods burned the left edge of the cup with another birdie attempt at the par-3 fourth, then poured in a left-to-right 15-footer for birdie at the par-4 fifth.
At the par-3 sixth, Woods missed the green to the right, the ball rolling down into a swale. His chip shot checked up nine feet short of the hole, and his par putt caught the right edge of the cup but refused to fall.
Woods missed the green with his approach shot at the short par-4 seventh but made a nice save, holing a four-foot putt. After finding the right fairway bunker off the tee at the par-5 eighth, he played short of the green, then flagged his third shot, the ball spinning seven feet below the hole. Woods converted for his sixth birdie of the day.
At the challenging par-4 ninth, he hit a nice approach shot 14 feet left of the hole and two-putted for a par.
The first-ever WGC event held in Asia, the HSBC Champions has attracted 28 of the top 50 players in the world, including seven of the top 10.
Woods tees off his second round on the first tee with Fisher and Jaidee at 9:50 ET on Thursday night.