The 96th US PGA Championship got under way at Valhalla on Thursday, with Tiger Woods insisting he was not in the 156-strong field simply to make up the numbers.
Just days after withdrawing from the final round of the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational with a back injury, Woods declared himself pain free after nine holes of practice on Wednesday afternoon.
And despite playing in just his fourth event since undergoing back surgery in March, Woods, 38, was targeting a 15th major title a full six years after his last came in the 2008 US Open.
Woods revealed that the sacrum bone in his back and been dislodged when he played his second shot on the second hole at Firestone Country Club on Sunday – he had to jump back into a fairway bunker – but that his physio had “popped the bone back in”.
“My physio is here so if it goes out he is able to fix it,” he added. “It was a different pain, I knew it was not the site of the surgery. This is something totally different.
“I still need to build up strength and it’s going to take more time. The treatment has been fantastic, once the bone was put back in the spasms went away and from there I started to get some range of motion.”
Woods said he would be taking anti-inflammatories this week, but “pain meds no, because I’m not in any”.
The world No 10 won the US PGA the last time it was staged here in 2000, but did not play in the Ryder Cup in 2008 and the course has since undergone extensive renovation led by designer Jack Nicklaus.
“I had my [yardage] book from 2000, but it’s useless. Joey [his caddie Joe LaCava] has been here and got a pretty good handle on it,” added Woods, who opted to just chip and putt on the back nine.
“I feel pretty good about how I played. I need to get more of a feel how this course is playing.”
Woods needs a good performance this week to boost his case for a Ryder Cup wild card, but at least has the advantage of close friend Steve Stricker being named vice-captain to Tom Watson for the contest at Gleneagles in September.
“He didn’t tell me, I just found out,” Woods joked. “I think it’s great. It’s fantastic because Strick is not only a good guy, he’s also one of our peers.
“You have Tom, Raymond [Floyd] as well as Andy [North], who don’t play out here anymore. Don’t really know the guys. I think it’s important to have someone who is out here on a regular basis, who knows the guys, knows their personalities, knows their games inside and out. I think that’s well deserved. Also a pretty smart move as well.”
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