World number two Tiger Woods believes his second win of the year points to sustained progress back to his best form.
The 37-year-old made it two victories in four starts on the PGA Tour as he registered his biggest triumph since 2009 with success in the WGC-Cadillac Championship in Miami.
He now heads to Bay Hill to defend his Arnold Palmer Invitational later this month before setting his sights on the Masters as he seeks to add to his 14-major haul for the first time since 2008.
On all but one of the seven occasions Woods has recorded multiple wins in a season, he has won a major, and the American believes his game is back on an upward curve.
“I felt towards the end of last year that I was heading that direction where things were becoming better,” said Woods who, having gone more than two years without a victory, now has five in the last 12 months.
“I look at the three venues that I won last year, they were all three very good golf courses and I think winning at Torrey (Pines – in the Farmers Insurance Open in January) and then winning in Miami I’ve been on some pretty tough tracks.
“Bay Hill can play easy but we didn’t have it easy on Sunday (last year); it was more like a US Open in Orlando.
“That gave me so much confidence heading into the off-season that I was heading in the right direction.
“I just keep going, keep plugging along, keep working with the things that Sean (Foley, his coach) wants me to do, and lo and behold, I’ve had two really good weeks this year.
“Any time I can win prior to Augusta it always feels good. I’ve been able to do it a few times throughout my career, which is nice.”
Woods benefited from an impromptu putting lesson from Steve Stricker – who regularly leads the stats on the greens – on the eve of the WGC tournament and as a result had just 100 putts in 72 holes.
“I’ve been putting at home and just still hadn’t felt right,” admitted the Ryder Cup star.
“I was still a little bit off but to have Stricks help me out like that, just like he always does, he’s a great friend.
“We tend to help each other out with our putting. He basically got me in the same position that I was at Torrey so once he put me in there I felt comfortable.
“I said ‘Well, this is not too foreign, this is what I was a month or so ago’ and I started rolling it and it felt really good and I just basically carried it through the entire week.”
