• Woods hits bogey-free round of 65 in the Hero World Challenge • Fourteen-times major champion is now ranked 898th in the world

This article is more than 3 years old

This article is more than 3 years old

Tiger Woods delivered a hugely encouraging second-round performance at the Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas as his comeback continued on Friday.

Returning after two back operations to play competitive golf for the first time since August 2015, the 14-times major winner had a mixed first day, making a superb start before some slip-ups forced him to settle for a one-over-par 73.

Things went much more smoothly for Woods on Friday as he recorded seven birdies, including four in his last eight holes, in a bogey-free round of 65.

At six under Woods moved up to joint eighth, six shots off the lead held by JB Holmes, who was yet to reach the halfway point of his second round.

Woods’ enjoyment was summed up by an enthusiastic fist pump after he sunk a long putt for par on the 16th, which he had double-bogeyed on Thursday. He also made par on the 18th having double-bogeyed that, too, a day earlier.

The 40-year-old former world No1, now ranked 898th, told Sky Sports: “It feels good.

“Yesterday I had it going for three holes (he hit three successive birdies on the 6th, 7th and 8th) and I lost it and finished over par.

“Today was different. I turned those two par fives (the 9th and 11th, both of which he bogeyed on Thursday) into under par and consequently I was able to play the middle part of the round better.

“I kept the momentum going and moved myself up the board.”

Woods had started the day 17th on an 18-man leaderboard, with only Justin Rose below him before the Olympic champion was forced to withdraw.