Woods getting close with second-place finish

Tiger Woods reacts after missing a birdie putt on the 18th hole during the final round of the Valspar Championship at Innisbrook Resort Copperhead Course on March 11, 2018 in Palm Harbor, Florida.  (Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images)

Credit: Sam Greenwood

Credit: Sam Greenwood

Tiger Woods reacts after missing a birdie putt on the 18th hole during the final round of the Valspar Championship at Innisbrook Resort Copperhead Course on March 11, 2018 in Palm Harbor, Florida. (Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images)

Tiger Woods is getting close.

Woods nearly won for the first time in five years with a second-place finish at the Valspar Championship on Sunday. Paul Casey was the winner at 10-under par, one stroke better than Patrick Reed and Woods.

Woods last won at the 2013 WGC Bridgestone Invitational. He finished 12th at the Honda Classic in his last event before this week. See, progress.

Woods closed with a 1-under par 70. He came up short on a lengthy birdie putt on No. 18 to force a playoff. Woods was that close after he made a 43-foot birdie putt on No. 17.

"I keep getting just a little bit better and a little bit sharper," Woods said the round. “… A couple of putts here and there and it could've been a different story."

Woods will play next week at the Arnold Palmer Invitational in his final tournament before the Masters.

The AJC's Steve Hummer offers the full report from the Valspar Championship.