Palm Beach Gardens, FL …

It has been well over four years since Tiger Woods has sounded so positive of victory after signing for a second round 71 and move to within just four shots of the lead with two rounds to play in the Honda Classic at Palm Beach Gardens.

Woods fought back from taking a double-bogey at 15 and dropping a shot at 16 to hole a near 10-foot birdie putt on the 17th to sharing 14th place in bright but continuing windy conditions on the PGA National course.

The American duo of Luke List (66) and Jamie Lovemark (68) share the lead on three-under par and with European No. 1 Tommy Fleetwood (68) among four lying at two-under par.

Just 10 players, including 2010 Open Champion Louis Oosthuizen (72), are under par after two rounds of the $ 6.6m.

Woods, and competing in just his third event since returning to full-time competition a month ago, is now the closest to victory since capturing the 2013 WGC – Bridgestone Invitational.

Tiger Woods sounds an ominous warning and trailing just four shots behind with two rounds to play in the 2018 Honda Classic. (Photo – @tourmiss)

And the now 42-year needed no prompting he is now very much in the ‘ball game’.

“Well, right now, I think I’m four back right now, as of right now. So I’m right there in the ballgame,” he said.

“It was just a tough day out there with the wind howling and it’s just hard to make putts. And so it was just a difficult day all around.

“So, no one is going to go anywhere out there as it’s just too difficult right now for someone to gout and and shoot a 63 or something like that and put themselves pretty far ahead.

“It’s hard to make birdies and it’s hard to find some.

“So, it’s why I feel like I’m right there. I’m right where I can win a golf tournament. You know, four back on this golf course with 36 holes to go, I mean, anybody can win this golf tournament right now. It’s so wide open.”

Woods is second on the all-time PGA Tour winners list with 79 Tour victories and three shy of the late Sam Snead.

While PGA National is some 15-minutes from Woods palatial Jupiter Island abode, he’s never won a ‘home’ Honda Classic.

And after being side-lined in August 2015 ahead of mutlipe back surgeries and not returning to the Tour to January, 2018 there is many already ready to single out Woods’ next victory, and should he win again, as one of the sweetest.

“I’m just being very steady and I’m trying to make a lot of pars, maybe sprinke in a birdie here and there,”  he said.

“It’s going to come down to a pretty bunched leaderboard on Sunday and we all know that.

“Anybody can win this tournament because it is so difficult out there to make birdies.”