The question of whether Tiger Woods would play at the PGA Championship this week in Louisville has been answered in the affirmative.
The PGA of America sent out an e-mail at 12:02 p.m. that Woods had arrived in the area, and he is scheduled to play a practice round beginning at 2 p.m. With the first tee closing an hour later, he was approaching the time when anything more than chipping and putting would have been impossible, but that is no longer an issue.
Woods withdrew from Sunday’s final round of the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational after injuring his back on the second hole. He walked off the course after hitting his tee shot at No. 9 and was obviously in pain when he went to change out of his golf shoes before leaving.
He has spent the last three days in Florida, though various reports had him at both his Jupiter Island home and in Orlando.
Woods is scheduled to be paired with Phil Mickelson and Padraig Harrington with an 8:35 a.m. tee time Thursday.
The PGA is the season’s final major and thus is Woods’ last chance to break a major victory drought that stretches back to the 2008 U.S. Open. He missed both the Masters and U.S. Open after undergoing back surgery on March 31, and after a solid 69 in his opening round, struggled to a 69th-place finish at the British Open.
He has played in six events this year, withdrawing from two, and has earned just over $108,000.
