Tiger impresses with four-under-par round

Former world number one Tiger Woods continued to exceed expectations on his latest eagerly anticipated injury comeback at the Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas.

Woods added a second round of 68 to his opening 69 for a halfway total of seven under par, five shots adrift of surprise leader Charley Hoffman.

But the bare figures did not tell the full story of a round which featured four birdies, a spectacular eagle and signs that Woods has quickly found a solution to the chipping woes which resurfaced on Thursday.

Woods has started just three events since August 2015 and withdrew from his most recent tournament in February in Dubai after an opening 77.

The 14-time major winner subsequently underwent spinal fusion surgery in April, his fourth back operation in the space of three years, and began the week a 40/1 outsider in the 18-man field. Those odds looked somewhat generous after the first round and appeared faintly ridiculous after Woods birdied three of his first four holes on day two and eagled the ninth in spectacular fashion to claim the outright lead.

Woods holed from five feet on the first, two-putted the par-five third and converted from four feet on the fourth, but saved the best till last on the front nine on the par-five ninth.

The 41-year-old had bogeyed the same hole on Thursday after a duffed chip but this time hit a towering threewood from 270 yards to 15ft and coolly rolled in the eagle putt.

Hoffman birdied the last five holes, and 12 in total, in a remarkable 63 to claim a three-shot lead over Jordan Spieth and Tommy Fleetwood.

Olympic champion Justin Rose was four shots off the pace after a second successive 68.

Picture: Getty. Tiger Woods had plenty to smile about after following his opening 69 with a 68 on his competitive comeback in the Hero Challenge.