After playing in a nine-hole practice round yesterday at Valhalla Golf Club, Tiger Woods told reporters that his back felt pretty good and he is pain free thanks to the treatment he received from his doctor. He will tee off at the PGA Championship this morning with Phil Mickelson and Padraig Harrington.
Woods was unsure of his status for the year's final major event this week after he was forced to withdraw from last week's WGC-Bridgestone Invitational due to back spasms. He asked the PGA of America for an extension for his registration deadline for the PGA Championship because he was undergoing treatment on his back and needed more time to decide if he was ready.
The four-time PGA Champion arrived at Valhalla Golf Club yesterday at 1:16 p.m. and hit balls for about a half hour before his practice round at 2 p.m. with Steve Stricker, David Love III and Harris English. After the round Woods was bombarded by reporters who wanted answers about his back and whether or not he thinks he's going to participate in the major.
"My range of motion was good," he said. "I started my firing sequence ... it was back to normal," he told reporters, in this ESPN article. "The sequencing was good. If my sequencing is good, it's all good."
When Tiger arrived at Valhalla he met up with his swing coach, Sean Foley, who was also pleased with the way Woods hit the ball on Tuesday.
"It was excellent on the range and very good on the course," Foley added. "I understand the nonsense that's out there [about Woods' game]. What I don't understand is that this is going to be just the 11th round of golf he's played competitively since April. That's what I don't get."
Woods teed off just after 8:35 a.m. with Mickelson and Harrington.
People everywhere out here. And we're off...big applause. Driver off the tee, it's in the left rough. Lefty is hitting a provisional...ouch.
— GC Tiger Tracker (@GCTigerTracker) August 7, 2014
Tiger Woods ranks second all-time with PGA Tour major wins (14) only behind Jack Nicklaus (18), but he hasn't claimed victory in one since the 2008 U.S. Open. Woods needs to play well in the next couple of weeks, as his potential spot on this year's Ryder Cup team is contingent upon his performance as the season comes to an end. Ryder Cup team captain Tom Watson is confident in Woods and hopes to have him in the event.
You can read more about Tiger Woods and this year's PGA Championship in this ESPN article.
