Except for the image of him adorning promotional banners, US star Tiger Woods was nowhere to be seen at the PGA Championship on Tuesday and his status for today’s scheduled start at Valhalla remained uncertain.
Former world No. 1 Woods, a 14-time major champion chasing the record 18 majors won by Jack Nicklaus, who designed the course in Louisville, Kentucky, suffered a back injury on Sunday in his final round at the World Golf Championships in Akron, Ohio.
Woods, who underwent back surgery on March 31 to ease a pinched nerve, returned in late June and missed the cut at a PGA event his foundation owns, then shared 69th place — his career-worst 72-hole major showing — at last month’s British Open.
Woods has not finished 72 holes in a US event this year without pain, going the distance only at Doral in March with a final-round 78 when he struggled to bend to collect his ball from the cup and grimaced at times after shots.
It is a far cry from Woods’ level at the 2000 PGA Championship, when he beat Bob May in a playoff to win the third leg of what would be four majors in a row — the “Tiger Slam.”
Since his last major win at the 2008 US Open, Woods has been nagged by injuries to his back, knees and legs, but if he fails to play this week, it would mark the first time he has missed three majors in a season, having sat out the Masters and US Open this year while recovering from surgery.
Woods, ranked 10th, had not registered with PGA officials by Tuesday afternoon, but can still do so just before his morning tee time today.
Woods is set to play the first two rounds alongside five-time major winner Phil Mickelson and Ireland’s Padraig Harrington.
US Open champion Martin Kaymer of Germany played alongside Woods at Akron and was impressed with his chipping.
“Everybody wants him to be back at the golf tournaments,” Kaymer said. “If you win a big tournament without Tiger in the field, you still feel very happy about it, but you want to play against him.”
Upon being told that Las Vegas bookmakers still listed him alongside Woods with 33-to-1 odds of winning, Masters winner Bubba Watson said: “I don’t gamble, but if I did I would always pick Tiger Woods.”
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