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Count Jack Nicklaus among the majority of people to be seriously impressed by Tiger Woods’ performance at the Honda Classic.
Woods put together four fine rounds of 70-71-69-70 to finish 12th at PGA National Golf Club on level par – eight shots behind Justin Thomas and Luke List, who fought it out in a play-off which Thomas prevailed for his eighth PGA Tour win.
The 14-time major champion had looked like finishing in the top ten, too, after being three-under-par through 14 holes, only to be derailed by a double-bogey at the 15th and bogey at the 16th.
But that didn’t stop Nicklaus giving a glowing assessment of Woods, who led the field in Driving Distance and Proximity to the green.
Speaking on the CBS coverage of the final round, Nicklaus said:
Jack Nicklaus: "I'm amazed at how well Tiger's playing. I just think it's fantastic. He's swung very well. He's playing well. It's fantastic."
— Kyle Porter (@KylePorterCBS) February 25, 2018
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For Woods himself, his performance at the Honda Classic – and how he has played in his three starts so far in 2018 – has meant that his expectation levels have increased as he counts down towards The Masters in five weeks’ time.
“I didn’t really know what to expect [about the comeback],” he said. “My expectations have gone up. I’m hitting the ball better. I knew I could putt it, I know I could chip it, but I didn’t know how well I was going to hit it.
“I’ve had to get used to certain things. I can’t do what I used to do. I can’t hit the same shots, the same body positions. They are different. I’m getting more accustomed to it and I’m very pleased about what has transpired, especially this week.”
As a result of his 12th-placed finish, Woods has risen 155 places in the world rankings to No.389.
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