Honda Classic: Tiger Woods on Track to Be Force at the Masters

Tiger Woods is beginning to look dangerous again, and it is just in time for the Masters. Through six holes on the final day at the Honda Classic, he is minus-3 for the day, and minus-5 overall. A so-so 71 on Day 1 may be too much to overcome, as Rory McElroy is the leader with a minus-11, but Tiger will be heard from before it's over.

One month away from Augusta, Tiger is in fine form heading into the final tune-ups for the Masters. At this pace at the Honda Classic, Woods could be looking at a top-seven finish, barring a collapse by himself or those he is chasing.

If that holds, it's a pretty solid finish considering the 71 on Thursday. He has strung together a 68 and a 69 and will put a stamp on a solid tournament with whatever he finishes with today.

If Tiger can avoid the one bad round that has plagued him so far this year, we may just have the old Tiger back.

In two previous tournaments this year, Tiger has had that one bad round on Sundays.

At the AT&T Pro-Am at Pebble Beach, Tiger was in striking distance before he posted a terrible 75 on the final day. A similar occurrence happened in the Abu Dubai HSBC Golf Championship, Tiger was in the hunt until shooting a 72 on the final day.

At least here in the Honda Classic, it appears the rough round was on Day 1. That at least gives Woods the opportunity to perhaps catch the leaders down the stretch.

That is something he used to be so good at. In his career, he has 19 come-from-behind victories, and when he's playing that way, the intimidation factor returns.

We are starting to see flashes of that in this tournament. He has stormed out of the gates today, and his performance, though it may not yield a victory, should at least continue to rebuild his confidence.

Through this year Tiger has the PGA Tour's best scoring average before the cut at 67.67, and the tour's best average Round 3 score at 67.

The problem has been the final day. There he is 162nd with an average of 75. Woods seems to be bucking that trend at the Honda Classic, and that is an indication that he is putting his game together.

To be the dominant version of Tiger Woods, and to win at Augusta, he must be good on Sundays. What we used to take for granted with him has not been evident for a while, and that is strong clutch performances on Sundays.

Finally, we are seeing that beast on the final day rear its head, and he's just in time to make a run at another green jacket.