Mar 11, 2018; Palm Harbor, FL, USA; Tiger Woods tips his cap to the gallery as he walks up to the 18th green during the final round of the Valspar Championship golf tournament at Innisbrook Resort - Copperhead Course. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports

Tiger Ties for 2nd at Valspar Championship

In the fourth official tournament of his comeback attempt, Tiger Woods looked like the real deal at the Valspar Championship.

Tiger finishes at -9

Tiger Woods finished the Valspar Championship 9 strokes under par and just one stroke behind the tournament winner Paul Casey. Woods was consistently good throughout the tournament and even had the solo lead on Friday. He was the only golfer to break par in all four rounds, finishing with scores of 70, 68, 67 and 70. Tiger had 16 birdies, 7 bogeys and hit par 49 times throughout the 4 days of golf. With the second place finish, Woods has climbed to the number 149 in the Official Golf World Ranking. Woods’ performance helped him jump 239 spots from the number 388 ranking. Woods has made significant progress of late and is showing flashes of vintage Tiger.

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Feels good, looks good

At the Valspar Championship, Tiger Woods came as close to winning a tournament as he has in a long time. This performance is his best since his win at the 2013 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational. Tiger, just one stroke short of the tournament winner, came up just a few feet short on his final round. In position to force a playoff for the win, Woods’ final putt was just under 3 feet short. Despite the disappointing end, Tiger looked very good all weekend. Tiger said that he keeps getting “better and sharper.”

This is just Tiger’s fourth official tournament since his back surgery last year. He has made significant improvements in each outing so far. If Tiger keeps improving, the gold world will likely witness him make some more history.

Vintage moments

Tiger had a couple of spectacular moments at the Valspar Championship. On the 17th hole of the final round, he sank an incredible 44-foot putt to put himself within one stroke of the lead.

On the 14th hole of the third round, Tiger claimed a PGA season-high statistic. Woods hit the PGA’s fastest clubhead speed of the season for any pro golfer at 129.2 mph.

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Coming Up Next

Woods has a quick turnaround for his next tournament. He confirmed that he will compete in the Arnold Palmer Invitational this week from March 15-18 in Orlando, Florida. After that tournament, Woods is expected to compete in The Masters, taking place from April 5th to April 8th.

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