Waiting game is over: Tiger Woods pain-free and ready to tackle Valhalla

Barely able to tie his shoes three days ago, Tiger Woods is ready to play in the PGA Championship.

Woods caused the biggest sensation of the week on Wednesday afternoon simply by driving his silver SUV into the parking lot at Valhalla. He has never arrived so late for a major championship and had so little time to prepare – just nine holes at Valhalla, which he had not seen since winning the PGA Championship in 2000.

But at least he’s playing.

That much was in doubt last Sunday when he withdrew from the final round of the Bridgestone Invitational because of back pain that made it a chore to switch out of his golf shoes. Woods said he suffered a pinched nerve, but that it was not at all related to back surgery he had on March 31 that kept him out of golf for three months.

He said his trainer adjusted the area above the sacrum.

“Once he put it back in, the spasms went away,” he said. “And from there, I started getting some range of motion.”

The latest injury occurred when Woods tried to play a shot from just above a deep bunker on the second hole at Firestone, and his momentum caused him to land hard in the sand. He kept playing, and hit some horrific shots before deciding to withdraw after a tee shot on the ninth hole.