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.