TIGER WOODS WAS pleased with his improvement on the par-fives at Albany as he produced a brilliant seven-under 65 in the second round of the Hero World Challenge.
Woods, appearing in his first competition after over 15 months out with a back problem, hit four birdies on the opening eight holes on Thursday before a significant drop-off resulted in him carding a one-over 73, placing him 17th out of 18 players in the field.
However, the 14-time major champion corrected several mistakes and posted gains on the par-five ninth and 11th, holes which he bogied in his opening round, en route to a flawless 18.
“It feels good. Yesterday I had it going on straight holes and I lost it and finished over par,” Woods told the Golf Channel.
“Today was different, I turned those two par-fives into under par and that’s four-shots right there.
“Consequently I was able to play the middle part of the round better, turned it around and kept the momentum going and I moved myself up the board.”
Rolling through the course in the Bahamas as he teed off first and solo after Justin Rose withdrew with back pain, Woods bounced back from his first-day concerns emphatically.
While the 40-year-old’s front nine matched his 33 from Thursday, he was more consistent this time through.
After a birdie putt on 10 lipped out, an unperturbed Woods posted gains on four of the next five holes, and the surest sign of his blossoming confidence came at the 16th.
A day after he double-bogeyed the hole, he saw his first two shots end up in the sand - his tee shot landing on a slope behind a bush – but rolled in a 20-foot putt to save par.
That left 18, where he found the middle of the fairway having picked out the water on Thursday. A long birdie effort from off the green did not miss by much, and he dropped the par putt with a wave to the crowd and a smile as he walked off.
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