TIGER WOODS saw his hopes of a fairytale comeback blown away but insisted: Im very happy.
Woods was looking to move up the leaderboard on day three of the Hero World Challenge at the Albany Resort after a second round 68.
Instead, he dropped five shots in his first 11 holes with errant drives and poor chipping sending him backwards as the winds blew across the Bahamas.
Woods, back after a 10-month absence, pulled his round together, doffing his cap and bowing to the gallery after the first of two birdies that saw him end the day on four-under par, nine shots adrift of leader Charley Hoffman.
And while the former world number one admitted he was frustrated by a round that ended his victory hopes, Woods maintained: There were a lot of questions I had, and Im sure other people did too, and Ive come out on the good side.
So Im very happy. It was a rough start. Everything I did right ended up in a bad spot and everything I did wrong was really wrong.
But its nice to feel part of the fight again, to fight against the course and the other guys, to have a scorecard in my hand.
The little mistakes cost me but I showed I can still grind it out and try to post a score when things arent going so well.
That was important too. Ive been playing at home and when you make a mistake it doesnt matter. It does out here and I needed to feel that again.
Hoffman is on course to win after three birdies in his final five holes to card a two-under par 70 for a total of 14-under and a five shot lead over Justin Rose and Jordan Spieth.