Tiger Woods has arrived at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville. That’s the same golf course hosting the PGA Championship on Thursday. Presumably, he will officially register and enter the tournament and try to play, but all we know is that he’s reported as arriving at the golf course.
Tiger Woods arrives at Valhalla for 2014 PGA Championship
Although he hasn’t officially committed to the 96th PGA Championship, Tiger Woods has reportedly showed up at Valhalla just 20 hours before his first-round tee time.
Gregory Shamus
Update: Or, maybe not? The PGA, which sent the release saying Tiger had arrived, has now told Golf Channel’s Jason Sobel that it was a premature announcement.
Whoa. Just spoke with a PGA official. "We cannot confirm that Tiger is here. We were a bit preemptive in releasing that news."
— Jason Sobel (@JasonSobelGC) August 6, 2014 Of course, this could just mean they sent the release too soon but that Tiger is en route to the course. At the time of the announcement, Tiger’s reserved parking spot remained empty as people scrambled to figure out where, exactly, he was on the grounds.
Tiger’s swing coach Sean Foley will also meet the 14-time major champion on the first tee at 2 p.m. ET for a practice round, according to Golf Channel’s Todd Lewis. Steve Stricker, a longtime practice round partner of Tiger’s, was also set to play with Woods at 2 p.m., according to two Rex Hoggard sources.
The last time we saw Tiger, he struggled just to hobble to a golf cart and then change his shoes in the parking lot at Firestone Country Club. Woods left Akron on Sunday afternoon and immediately bolted for his home in Florida, seeking treatment and a diagnosis for his latest back injury.
That’s the last we’d seen of Tiger, who had his empty parking spot at Valhalla stalked for the past three days while we waited for word on whether he’d enter the season’s final major. The assumption was that he’d re-aggravated the back injury that required surgery and more than three months on the shelf earlier this year, and that his season was now over.
If he does play a practice round, stays healthy, and commits to his 8:35 a.m. tee time on Thursday, we’ll shift to “WD watch” for at least the first 36 holes as he tries to stay healthy. Even if he’s healthy enough to play, Tiger’s game is not in shape to be a serious contender for his 15th major championship. But it’s good to at least (maybe) have him on the grounds trying to give it a go.
Update No. 2: It’s now official, Tiger Woods has arrived at the course and is set to tee off with Stricker at 2 p.m.
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