Tiger Woods springs back into life with brilliance that smacks of past glories

Look who's found his way back into contention.

Tiger Woods showed flashes of the player who once owned golf's major championships, blistering the back nine on his way to a six-under 66 on Friday that brought out that familiar fist pump and sly grin. He's just three strokes behind Rory McIlroy in a tie for third at the Masters.

After an up-and-down front nine, Woods was simply trying to get under par before the turn. Then he turned up the heat, making five birdies, including three in a row on holes 13, 14 and 15. The 66 matched Woods' lowest score of the year, and was his best round at Augusta National since he won in 2005.

"It was nice to get it going today," he said. "Anytime you shoot 66 in a major, it's always going to be good. I'm very pleased about that."

Woods has been in freefall since that infamous car crash 16 months ago. His marriage failed after the revelations of a long and tawdry string of affairs. His golf game has been erratic, at best, as he goes through yet another major swing change.

However, he looked on Friday as if the swing changes have finally taken hold, and he said it's the most comfortable he's felt since he started working with swing coach Sean Foley at the PGA Championship last year. He finished with nine birdies, none more impressive than his final one on 18.

His drive found the right rough, leaving him with a tough lie 150 yards short of the hole. But he placed an 8-iron almost perfectly, about 12 feet to the right of the hole. He rolled the putt in, giving a long, emphatic fist pump as the ball dropped into the cup and the crowd roared.

"I'm right where I need to be," Woods said. "I've closed the gap after yesterday's round, and hopefully tomorrow I can piece together another good round, stay patient and plod my way along."

Woods has seemed to be back on track several times over the last year, only to back right up again. He was third after both the second and third rounds at last year's Masters, but finished in a tie for fourth. He shot a five-under 31 on the back nine Saturday at Pebble Beach to get into contention at the US Open, but couldn't make a putt on the final day and finished tied for fourth.

He wouldn't see the top ten again until the HSBC Championship in November. After shooting a 68 on Friday at Bay Hill last month, he backed up with a 74-72 and finished tied for 24th.

"The whole idea was to peak for this event," Woods said. "We try to peak four times a year, and it was nice to go through the learning curve and some of the changes that Sean and I had to make in the game. It was good and positive, and here we are.

"I'm just trying to put myself in the mix come Sunday. My whole job is to get myself there with a chance with nine holes to go.

"That's what we've always done.I've been successful at it in the past by doing it that way."

Woods is the first to caution that there is still a long way to go, and plenty of good players in contention.

But if there is an ideal setting for Woods to make a comeback, it is at Augusta National. He's won four of his 14 majors here, and the Masters record book is filled with his name.

He knows the course as well as anyone and, even with all of his flaws, the fans here are still on his side.

"I'm looking forward to it," Woods said. "It's going to be fun."

Australian Jason Day, the man who prevented him going head-to-head with McIlroy this afternoon, had a 64 that was only one outside the course and major record - and that on his Masters debut.

"The greens are firm, soft, they are quick, but they are soft and the ball is holding," Woods said.

"So if you get the right gust and the right wind at the right time you can be pretty aggressive. I've played myself back in the championship, but we have a long way to go."

He was even in danger of missing the cut when he stood level par after seven holes yesterday, but then came a hat-trick of birdies from the eighth and another three in a row from the 13th before one more on 18 put the icing on the cake.

Defending champion Phil Mickelson was among those he overtook.

Mickelson's 72 left him eight shots behind and in joint 20th place.

"I left too many shots out there," he said. "I had six up and downs that were not hard and I didn't make them.

"Fortunately I am not in that bad a position and I can get back in it, but I can't afford this weekend to leave those shots out there.

"These next two days are my favourite two days of the year and you can make up a lot of ground."

It is too late for Graeme McDowell, Padraig Harrington and world No.1 Martin Kaymer, though.

All three players missed the cut - US Open champion McDowell by two after losing a ball and taking a triple bogey on the short 12th.

Former winners Sandy Lyle and Ian Woosnam crashed out too after being troubled by back spasms and a sore hip respectively.

The 53-year-old Woosnam, winner in 1991, said he did not know if he would play the tournament again.