He’s back.

Just not all the way. Yet.

Two tournaments into the next chapter of his life, Tiger Woods found himself sticking shots and rolling in putts last week. He was glaring at the hole and fist-pumping his way around Cog Hill Golf & Country Club like the best player in the world.

Yes, he had his oops moments. A snap into the woods. A three putt on his first hole out of the gate Sunday afternoon.

But know what? Coming down the stretch you expected a miracle. Heck, Trevor Immelman expected to see one when Tiger blocked it right at 15 and, well, made an all-world par.

“Tiger is such a phenomenal player that even at that moment you kind of expect him to hole it out or get it up and down, do something crazy like that,’’ Immelman said. “It's just what makes Tiger Tiger.”

Tiger Woods finished tied for second at last week's Cialis Western Open. (Cohen/WireImage)

And when he emerged from the scoring trailer after Immelman sank a 31-foot birdie to beat him by two shots, Tiger was Tiger. All smiles because, well, what could he do?

He didn’t shoot 64, but then again, he didn’t shoot under par in the opening round, either. He didn’t take the Cialis Western Open and run with it. Immelman did.

Someone asked him if he wanted that second shot back at 15, which came as he was making a stretch run.

“No, I'd need more than that,’’ he said. “I'd need the first round back, shooting 1 over par. Nowadays on TOUR, you can't shoot 1-over par in a regular TOUR event and expect to win a golf tournament. For some reason 1-over par used to win tournaments. Now it needs to be 2 or 3-under par on your bad day.’’

And that blocked shot?

“Just a crappy shot,’’ he said. “I mean, I just hit a bad one at the wrong time, hit it straight right. I was lucky to even have it in play. That thing should have been gone, I hit it so bad. Actually I hit a pretty decent chip to get out and hit another bad chip there and hit a terrible putt, and it went in. Welcome to golf.’’

Spoken like, well, the best player in the world.

He wasn’t happy finishing second, but he knew he was going to have to get lucky to win the Cialis Western Open. He wasn’t quite sharp enough. But he was a heck of a lot better than he was two weeks earlier at the U.S. Open when he missed his first cut as a professional in a major. Or even where he was on the front nine Sunday.

“It was nice to turn it around because I wasn't doing anything for the first eight holes,’’ he said. “It was nice to feel the juices coming down the stretch where I had a chance. I wasn't on the periphery like I was on the front nine. The front nine I was pretty far out, and at least I was able to play my way back in to where I had a legitimate chance the last two holes.’

“... I felt that rush. That's part of being an athlete, to feel that rush coming down the stretch. It's tough to have the nerves and control them and the adrenaline. It's a blast. It's actually a blast.’’

And not a bad way to cruise into next week’s British Open Championship at Hoylake, which he knows not so much about. Except caddie Stevie Williams caddied there once.

“I haven't been there, haven't seen any photos of it,’’ he said with a grin. “All I know is it's in Liverpool. ‘’

He’ll cruise over later this week and start getting prepared for tournament No. 3 of this segment of his career. And, no doubt, he’ll face the same questions about the layoff, about his father’s death, about how he’s coping and how all of that -- and everything else in the universe -- is affecting his game. It’s just one of the things that come with being No. 1.

"I tell you what, if I had his game, you could analyze me eight days a week, 25 hours a day, I wouldn't care," said Rich Beem, who played with him in last week’s third round. "Are you kidding me? The guy's human, but he's the best in the world. "I think he enjoys being the best in the world. I think he loves going out there and proving not only to himself but to everybody else he's the best in the world -- and all that comes with it, regardless of whether people say he's in a slump or whatever. He doesn't care what anybody says. He cares what he thinks. And he thinks he's the best in the world."

Which explains his answer to the question of the week -- is his game where he wants it going to England?

“It's never where you want it to be,’’ he said with a grin. “If it is, quit.’’

Enough said.