Tiger Woods' solid second round puts him in position to challenge at Honda Classic

Tiger Woods is on the prowl heading into the weekend at the Honda Classic. Following a day one in which he finished with an even-par 70, Woods responded with a 1-over 71 on Friday. His score of 141 has him hovering within striking distance of leaders Jamie Lovemark and Luke List, who are four strokes ahead.

Powerful winds altered the trajectory of shots in the air and putts for much of the field at the PGA National Golf Club. Through the first 14 holes, Woods challenged for the lead. However, he fell victim to the Bear Trap on the 15th, 16th and 17th holes, splashing a shot into the water, enduring back to back bogeys on 15 and 16 before dropping a birdie putt on 17.

“The wind’s howling out there. It’s hard to make putts. So it was just a difficult day all around,” said Woods about the difficult conditions. “I really played well today. It was just tough scoring. It really is hard to make birdies.”

“I’m right where I can win a golf tournament,” added Woods. “You know, four [strokes] back on this golf course with 36 holes to go, I mean anybody can win this golf tournament right now. It’s wide open.”

After missing the cut at last weekend’s Genesis Open, a strong showing in Palm Beach on Saturday and Sunday would signal how far he’s come in shaking the rust off in 2018.

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DJ Dunson is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at dunsnchecksin@yahoo.com or find him on Twitter or Facebook.