Tiger Woods is enjoying a scintillating third round at The Players Championship, going six under par through the front nine after just making the cut.

The 14-time major champion looked in danger of missing the weekend's action on Friday, but a one-under 71 ensured he made the cut - unlike Rory McIlroy.

And Woods carried his momentum into the next round with an extraordinary return to form, carding six birdies on the first nine holes at Sawgrass to move to tied 11th on seven under.

Webb Simpson's sensational score of 15 under after two rounds makes a genuine challenge unlikely, but Woods is swiftly moving up the leaderboard.

In a PGA Tour competition he has twice won, the 42-year-old was clinical on the green on Saturday.

A 15-foot putt for birdie on the first was followed by a five-foot execution on the second, before settling for par at the third.

Successive gains followed for Woods and he saluted a growing crowd after expertly measuring a shot into the hole on the sixth.

The seventh and ninth saw birdies, too, to take Woods into the back nine within touching distance of the top 10 as he looks to build on a much-improved start to 2018.