Valspar 2018 - Tiger Roars Back!

Tiger Woods Two Strokes from Lead at Valspar Championship 2018

At the end of the second round, half way through the Valspar Championship Tiger Woods' 3-under 68 placed him in a tie on second place, two strokes from the lead. This is only his fourth game since returning from injury. Canadian Corey Conners, a first-timer to the PGA Tour, is in the lead after a 69 round with 6-under, 136 match total.

Joining Woods on 4-under 138 are Paul Casey, Ryan Palmer, Kelly Kraft and Brandt Snedeker. Jordan Spieth and Rory McIlroy both missed the cut this time around, both on 5-over 147. The field is now 78. Woods has been paired with Snedeker for the third round.

For about an hour during the round Woods led the way. His birdie on the 5th hole (his 14th) gave him the lead in the tournament. When he learned of this later on, Woods himself was surprised. He said that whenever he looked at any scoreboards they were showing information about other players, so he did not know that he had been in the sole lead for a time. [Ref ESPN]

"Could I have envisioned myself being here? No," he said after the round. "My surgeon hadn't told me I was fused. If I'm not fused, this is a totally different game. Am I going to feel what I did for the last four, five years? Or am I going to be like this?"

Valspar Championship

The Valspar Championship was originally the Tampa Bay Classic, founded in year 2000. It is played annually on the Copperhead course of Innisbrook Resort and Golf Club in Florida. Last year's winner was Canadian Adam Hadwin. The tournament record was set in 2004 by Vijay Singh with 18-under 266, when he won by five strokes. Valspar Corporation's title-sponsor commitment to the tournament presently continues until 2020.