Tiger Woods played a pain-free practice round Wednesday on the eve of the PGA Championship, showing no signs of the back injury that had cast doubts on his ability to play at Valhalla.
At the same venue where Woods claimed the 2000 PGA Championship, he played the front nine alongside Davis Love, Harris English and Steve Stricker then walked the back nine, only practicing putts.
"I'm not in any pain. That is the good part," Woods said. "I felt pretty good about how I played and the shots I hit.
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Woods, who drew a huge crowd with every move after his playing status had been in doubt for the past two days, showed no trouble with driving distance after what looked like a typical practice session.
"I need to get more feel for how this golf course is playing," Woods said. "It's a totally different course than what I played in 2000. These greens are all different. There are some new things that we have to learn."
Woods, whose most recent of 14 major wins came at the 2008 US Open, is scheduled to start off the 10th tee at 8:35 Thursday morning (1235 GMT) alongside two other past PGA Championship winners, fellow American Phil Mickelson and Ireland's Padraig Harrington.
"Just play well. That's the only thing I can control," Woods said of his goals. "Try to go out there and win this event. That's all I'm focused on."
Woods pulled out of Sunday's final round of the World Golf Championships event in Akron, Ohio, with a back injury. He jarred his back on the second hole at Firestone Country Club and withdrew after wincing in pain following a tee shot at the ninth hole.
- Surgery, spasm unrelated -
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Woods, who underwent back surgery on March 31 to relieve a pinched nerve, said his problems Sunday were unrelated to the operation.
"It's not the site of the surgery. This is something totally different," Woods said.
"Basically, when I landed on the bunker, my sacrum went out, so pinched the nerve and hence the spasm. My physio put it back in and we've just been treating it.
"I still need to build strength, continue to get stronger. Just going to take more time."
After going home to Florida for treatment and examination by doctors, Woods decided Tuesday afternoon to play and arrived at the course Wednesday afternoon, his latest arrival ever for a major.
