Woods believes he is on track for Masters

Tiger Woods’s expectations have gone up after his 12th place at the Honda Classic on Sunday.

Though a double-bogey at the 15th ended any outside chance of victory, Woods took confidence from his performance in just his third official start since undergoing a spinal fusion last April.

An apparently healthy Woods seems increasingly likely to head to April’s Masters, the first Major of 2018, as a contender rather than just one of the players invited back as a former champion.

“I feel like each time out I’ve gotten better and I’ve gotten more of a feel for playing tournament golf,” he said. “The last couple days, it felt easy to play tournament golf.

“The warm-up felt good. I get into the flow of the round. I could find the rhythm of the rounds faster. I feel very happy the way I played the entire week.”

Woods shot 70 on Sunday to finish at even-par 280, eight strokes behind winner Justin Thomas of the US.

A month ago, Woods was 23rd in his official comeback at Torrey Pines, while he missed last week’s cut at Riviera, where a bad round of 76 cost him. It is his only score of more than 72 in 10 rounds in 2018.

“I’m just building towards April,” Woods said. “I’m trying to get myself ready for that and I feel like I’m right on track.”

Despite the positive signs, Woods demurred when asked if he felt like the “old Tiger”.

“I feel like an older guy. My new reality, my back’s fused and I can’t create the same shots.

“I didn’t really know what to expect. My expectations have gone up.” /