Tiger Woods 'excited' by chance of Valspar victory

Miami, March 11: Tiger Woods is understandably "excited" to have the chance of ending his long win drought at the Valspar Championship, after another impressive display in round three.

In his fourth official start of the season, Woods is one shot off the pace with 18 holes to play in Palm Harbor, unheralded PGA Tour rookie Corey Conners the only man ahead of him.

The 14-time major champion has suffered badly with injuries in recent years, but his performances have been increasingly encouraging since he returned from his latest back surgery and Woods is now well placed to secure a first tournament title since 2013.

Having ended Saturday (March 10) alongside Brandt Snedeker and Justin Rose at eight under, one behind Conners, Woods said: "I am excited. I feel good.

"I feel like I'm playing a bit better and cleaner. I moved myself up the board. I know it's packed up there but at least I got a shot."

Woods expects a tough battle for victory on Sunday, when he can once again expect to be followed by huge crowds.

129.2 MPH club head speed on this drive.

Fastest swing recorded on TOUR this season. pic.twitter.com/y6OtNsEsAk

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) March 11, 2018

"There's a packed leaderboard," he added. "There's so many guys [who] played their way back up into this tournament. I've got to go out there and really play well again.

"Hopefully I'll make a few more birdies and keep that card clean. I'm right there. I'm only one back. I need to play a good, solid round, [have a] clean card again and we'll see what happens."

In the final round, Woods will once again be paired with Snedeker, his playing partner on Saturday and a familiar face over the last few weeks.

"We had fun again, Sneds and I. I think this is what, maybe 13 rounds [in 2018] and 6 or 7 of them with him," added Woods.

"We've had a good time. We both played well and it was just an unbelievable environment. People were into it and we put up some good numbers.

"I played myself right there into contention, so it will be a fun Sunday."

Source: OPTA