Winnipeg, Man.  – James Beale claimed the 2014 Canadian Men’s Amateur Championship title after rolling in a long birdie putt on the third playoff hole at Elmhurst Golf and Country Club.

The New Zealand native finished 72 holes tied atop the leaderboard alongside Team Canada’s Taylor Pendrith and California’s Jonathan Garrick at 6-under par. The trio battled it out over three holes before Beale’s 22-foot birdie putt found the bottom of the cup on the par-4 18th hole. 

“Honestly I don’t know if it’s good or bad but the thought went through my mind just as I was standing over it that this is for the win,” said Beale when describing his winning putt. “As I looked at the hole I just kind of stroked it and tapped it down there and it just tracked towards the hole and I couldn’t believe it.”

The 21-year-old carded a final-round 1-under 69 and drained a clutch par-putt on his 72nd hole to earn his spot in the three-man hole-by-hole playoff for the national championship title.

“It’s surreal it’s definitely something I’ve dreamed about, I didn’t think it would happen so soon,” he continued. “I’ve been working on my game hard and 2014 is the first year where I’ve really started to feel like I get everything out of my game.”

With Beale’s victory he earns an exemption into next week’s U.S. Amateur Championship and also the 2015 RBC Canadian Open at Glen Abbey Golf Club in Oakville, Ont. 

“Just added benefits, it’s amazing,” he stated. “I wasn’t thinking about that stuff when I was out there but to get off and realize that I’m in the U.S. Amateur and the Canadian Open a PGA Tour event, it doesn’t get much better than that, I’ll have to reconsider turning pro next year so I can play in that one.”

Pendrith of Richmond Hill, Ont. carded a final round 4-under 66 to finish tied for second alongside Garrick of Atherton, Calif. Team Canada’s Corey Conners of Listowel, Ont. finished at 5-under 277 in a tie for fourth with New Mexico’s Sam Saunders.

The editor asked for a column on “par.”

My response?

“My good man, your ‘par’ is a deceitful harlot whose insidious false promises inevitably lead to broken dreams and shattered hopes.” (OK, so I just came up with that now, but that would have set him back on his heels, I bet. In any case, I accepted the assignment.)

Despite what you may think, the word “par” did not originate in golf. It denoted something that was average, acceptable. Eventually, it made its way into golf’s lexicon in the early 20^th Century to denote the arbitrary standard for the number of strokes, based on the length of a hole, that a proficient golfer should take on that hole. It also sounded a death knell for the dominance of match play, particularly in North America.

For the next few decades, although many golf competitions continued to be contested as matches, the concept of aggregate stroke play based on par was making inroads. One of the last professional holdouts was the PGA Championship, being played this week in Kentucky. It was a match-play tournament until 1958, when the commercial and entertainment realities of television pressured it to switch to stroke play.

One of the most significant mementoes of my life in golf is a trophy awarded to the club champion a few years back. It was a titanic struggle, one for the ages. (Did I mention I won?) To recap: Nerves jangling, barely breathing, I started out with two triple bogeys, a sketchy par and a double bogey. My opponent, who had a similar handicap factor to me, went par, bogey, par, par. I finished the round five shots behind my opponent, but I won the trophy on the second extra hole.

No doubt you are shaking your head and saying. “Huh? How does that work?” Easy. It was our club’s match-play championship.

In the match I mentioned, it didn’t matter that I was seven strokes behind my opponent after the first four holes. I was down just three holes, having lost the first two, halved (tied) the third and lost the fourth. (If it was a stroke-play competition, my fate would have been sealed before we made the turn and I would have been hailing the beverage cart.) But in match play, hope springs eternal. By the time we reached the 18^th green, I had won those three back and we were all square. We halved the 19^th and I had a par to his bogey on the 20^th. Despite stumbling badly out of the gate, I had won.

To say my opponent and I were exhausted is an understatement. He was buoyant about being three holes up after four played but decided to play defensively. In contrast, I took some chances that paid off and there I was, looming in his rearview mirror. Down two holes, then just one. Suddenly, short putts that had been conceded earlier in the match were not being conceded. Despite being the best of pals, we became the lockjaw twins. No quarter asked and none given. We were grinding, battling not only the course and our swings, but each other, as well as the many and conflicting emotions swirling around inside our noggins. It was a great match, a draining physical, psychological, emotional, strategic battle. It was “mano a mano,” just the two of us. Old Man Par, that uninvited third wheel, was not welcome.

So you can keep your par and your stroke play. Give me match play anytime.

Dean Ryan concurs. Ryan, a Golf Canada Governor, is a past Golf Canada Rules Chairman and still sits on the organization’s Rules Committee. I caught up with him on the phone as he was arriving at this week’s Canadian Men’s Amateur in Winnipeg after spending a week in Niagara Falls, presiding over the Canadian Junior Boys Championship.

Ryan got my attention when I read his excellent column, Stop The Stroke Play Insanity!, in the latest issue of Ontario Golf News, which coincidentally arrived in my inbox as I was thinking about this piece. (I won’t rehash Ryan’s thoughts, but you should read them here.)

“When golfers first try match play, they are delighted by its simplicity and forgiveness,” he told me. “Most of us are inconsistent golfers and match play takes the pressure off. North America is one of the few places around the world where match play and Stableford are not played frequently. In both formats, you can have a few bad holes and carry on. Not in stroke play.”

In fact, Ryan thinks match play “could be one of the saviours of the game,” not just for the reasons he mentioned above, but because it takes less time to play than stroke play because putts and even holes can be conceded to your opponent without having to grind out every shot. Just pick up and move on to the next tee. But, just like in stroke play, you must post a score for handicap purposes after every match-play round, even if you don’t complete a hole or holes.

Craig Loughry, Golf Canada’s Director of Handicap and Course Rating, explains.

“If in match play, the player is conceded a putt or hole mid-stream, there is a decision to make for score posting. There is a specific decision to help explain this.

“Section 4, Adjusting Hole Scores, says that a player who starts, but does not complete, a hole records for handicap purposes the ‘most likely score.’ This score must not exceed the player’s maximum number under Equitable Stroke Control.

“’Most likely score’ is a judgment that each player must make based on his or her own game. It consists of the number of strokes already taken plus, in the player’s best judgment, the number of strokes needed to complete the hole from that position more than half the time. The player must evaluate each situation based on what the player can reasonably expect to score.

“The grey area is if John has an eight-footer. John is a superior putter, so maybe he makes that putt. Craig, on the other hand, would be lucky to two-putt from there. Go to five feet, three feet, etc. You get the idea. It depends on you—you get to decide what that would be based on your own game, not someone else judging for you. Just like calling a rules violation on yourself.”

Faster rounds, simpler, less intimidating, more forgiving. Could match play, as Ryan suggests, be one of the saviours of golf in these trying times?

Complete information on match, stroke, Stableford and all forms of play is available in the Rules of Golf here.

The Golf Canada Handicap Manual is located online by clicking here.

GLEN COVE, N.Y. -Four of the five Canadians who qualified for match play at the 2014 US Women’s Amateur at Nassau Country Club advanced to the round of 32 Wednesday.

Brooke Henderson of Smiths Falls, Ont. continues her dominant play, beating Mika Liu of Beverly Hills, Calif. 7 & 5 to advance. Henderson, who recently finished as low amateur at the U.S. Women’s Open, now faces Ember Schuldt, Sterling, Ill. in her upcoming match.

In an all Canadian match-up, newly crowned Canadian Women’s Amateur champion Augusta James of Bath, Ont. will face Elizabeth Tong of Thornhill, Ont. Thursday after defeating Sarah Burnham of Maple Grove, Minn.2-up. Tong made easy work of Ashley Burk of Boynton Beach, Fla. winning 5&4.

Brittany Marchand of Orangeville, Ont. overtook China’s Yunjie Zhang 2-up and now faces Plano, Texas’ Dylan Kim.

The lone Canadian to fall Wednesday was Anne-Catherine Tanguay of Quebec City. She lost 2& 1 to Portland Rosen of Sugar Land, Texas.

In other notable match-ups, Lakareber Abe beat qualifying medalist Bethany Wu 6 and 4 Wednesday. The 18-year-old Abe, an Alabama recruit from Angleton, Texas, is trying to become the first black female individual champion in U.S. Golf Association history.

“It was just smooth sailing,” said Abe, second last year in the U.S. Girls’ Junior. “I didn’t get too up or too down. Just kind of steady the whole time.”

The 17-year-old Wu, from Diamond Bar, California, became the first top seed to fall in the first round since co-medalist Jihee Kim in 2011.

“I wasn’t hitting it solid,” Wu said. “After I lost the third hole, it kind of got in my head. I tried to come back so quickly, and it just didn’t work out. Overall, just a terrible day.”

Defending champion Emma Talley, the 20-year-old University of Alabama player from Princeton, Kentucky, edged Jiyoon Jang of Rancho Mirage, California, in 19 holes. Talley set up a second-round match with Princess Mary Superal, the 17-year-old Filipino player who won the U.S. Girls’ Junior last month.

Superal beat Raegan Bremer of Anaheim, California, 3 and 1.

Brittany Marchand (USGA)

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Steve Stricker became the third and final assistant on U.S. Ryder Cup captain Tom Watson’s staff, an honor that came with just a hint of regret.

“I feel old,” Stricker said shortly after the announcement was made at Valhalla Golf Club, where he’s playing in the PGA Championship. “The way my body feels make feel old, too.”

The 47-year-old Stricker played on the last three U.S. teams. But watching from the sidelines this time won’t diminish his desire for revenge. He was left standing on the 18th green at Medinah in 2012, when Martin Kaymer of Germany sealed the win for Europe with a putt for a 1-up win in the match.

“There’s a bunch of guys who want to try to get that cup back,” Stricker said.

He joins Raymond Floyd, 71, and fellow Wisconsin native Andy North, 64, as Watson’s assistants. Given his friendship with North, Stricker was asked how the two would divvy up responsibilities when the matches are contested Sept. 26-28 at Gleneagles in Scotland.

“He’s the big cheese,” Stricker laughed. “He’s always been big cheese in Wisconsin.”

Stricker also played five times at the Presidents Cup, where his low-key personality made him a good match and frequent playing partner for Tiger Woods. Though he was also part of Woods’ foursome during Wednesday’s practice, Stricker never mentioned being selected as an assistant.

“He didn’t tell me,” said Woods. “I guess he was focused on his game.

“I think it’s great,” added Woods, who is still angling for a spot on the Ryder Cup team as a wild-card pick. “Because Strick is not only a good guy, he’s also one of our peers. … I think it’s important to have someone who is out here on a regular basis, who knows the guys, knows their personalities, knows their games inside and out. I think that’s well deserved.”

For his part, Stricker said twice that he wanted Woods on the team – provided his oft-injured back isn’t a problem.

“We know how important he is in the game of golf, and how good a match play player he is; when you really do need him, he’ll be there,” Stricker said. “So we’ll see. We’ll see how it plays out this week. Hopefully he’s healthier and he can get his game going.”

In making the announcement, Watson, who turns 65 next month, couldn’t help tickling his newly named assistant on the age issue.

When someone pointed out to Watson that Stricker was “obviously of a different generation to the other two vice captains that you’ve selected,” the captain cut the question off.

Turning to Stricker, he said, “Are you a different generation than North?”

“A couple generations,” Stricker replied, to a round of laughter.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – A fan wearing a Chicago Cubs hat caught in the crush around the third tee at Valhalla Golf Club raised both hands above his head to show off an Illinois license plate. It read: “TIGR WDS.”

For those who questioned the wisdom of Woods returning to practice Wednesday, just three days after a bad back forced him to quit his last tournament mid-round, it seemed like an omen – and not a particularly good one. The unofficial motto of those sad-sack Cubs, after all, is “Wait `til next year.”

I’m not a doctor, but it sounds like good advice to me.

Woods has played only nine full competitive rounds since surgery at the end of March to relieve pressure on a pinched nerve. His best finish this season is a tie for 25th. He withdrew from two other tournaments and missed the cut in a third. He has always said winning majors is what matters most and his chances of sneaking past the field to capture this week’s PGA Championship – with less than a full round of practice under his belt – are about the same as the Cubs have to steal the pennant.

“It’s a totally different golf course than what I played in 2000,” said Woods, who won the PGA here that year in a playoff with Bob May. “These greens are all different. I have my book from 2000; it’s useless. There’s some new things that we have to learn out there.

“Joey (LaCava, Woods’ caddie) has been here on the ground. He’s got a pretty good handle on it,” he added. “We’ll run through some more of it as we go.”

At this point, it’s worth noting that he’s not the Tiger Woods of 2000, either. It’s hard to imagine that guy even talking about trying to win a major on the fly. Back then, preparation was his hallmark and Woods was collecting majors at such a furious pace that he seemed to be on cruise control in his pursuit of Jack Nicklaus’ record of 18 career majors. That was true even after he won the 14th – and so far last – of his majors by beating Rocco Mediate, despite playing on a broken leg, in the 2008 U.S. Open.

Then the sex scandal of 2009 turned Woods’ life and career upside down. What followed was a run of questionable decisions, compounded by more injuries. He won eight tournaments the last two full seasons he has played, but hasn’t seriously contended on the final nine of a major in five years. On top of that, he lost nearly all of his major sponsors, save Nike, and hasn’t had much luck attracting new ones.

I’m not a psychologist, either, so I can only speculate about what Woods’ motivation might be for rushing back to tournament play after the rough patch he has endured. But my guess is that at age 38, Woods is increasingly nervous about the game he helped grow moving on without him. He’s already watched a generation of youngsters he inspired to take up the game blow their tee shots past his. It must be an unsettling feeling.

As golfing rewards go, the only two big ones still out there this season are the PGA Championship and the Ryder Cup. After his practice session, Woods was asked whether he can win this week and he answered tersely, “Yes.”

“What do you need to do,” came a follow-up question, “to do that?”

Woods was not much more revealing.

“Hit it well and make every putt.”

At the moment, qualifying for the U.S. Ryder Cup team is not a realistic goal, either. The top nine U.S. players in the points race qualify automatically and Woods currently ranks 69th, sandwiched between two guys – Troy Merritt and Luke Guthrie – you’ve likely never heard of.

In most years, Woods would be a lock for one of U.S. captain Tom Watson’s three wild-card selections. Instead, they’ve played a cat-and-mouse game in public the past few weeks, with Woods saying that he’s worthy of the pick and Watson saying he won’t commit either way until the formal announcement of the team on Sept. 2.

“I can’t answer that yet,” Watson said again Wednesday at Valhalla, where he’s in the field. “A lot of things can happen between now and then.”

Like Michael Jordan, the other sporting great to whom Woods has been compared, it’s hard to think of him setting foot on a golf course just for the sake of “being out there.” It’s sad to see, but it happens to the very best of them.

Ken Tarling jumped out to an early lead at the Mr. Lube PGA Seniors’ Championship of Canada presented by Adams Golf after a bogey free round of 5-under-par 65.

Tarling, who captured the 2011 PGA Seniors’ Championship, holds a narrow one-shot advantage over an impressive cast of golfers including two-time defending champion Jim Rutledge, former European Senior’s Tour player David Wetfflaufer and newly-turned 50-year-old Remi Bouchard.

“Luckily for me it was a pretty clean round of golf out there today because I hit a lot of fairways and greens,” Tarling said of his first round at Beverly Golf & Country Club. “This is just a fantastic golf course and it’s in wonderful shape.”

Located in Copetown, Ont., Beverly Golf & Country Club is a classically designed Robbie Robinson gem and is often referred to as one of the best secrets in Canada golf. At more than 6,500 yards, the par-70 layout features angled greens, traditional bunkering and large mature trees.

This year’s PGA Seniors’ Championship of Canada is contested over 36-holes, where as in past years it has been played over 54-holes. Rutledge, who has won this championship in 2010, 2012 and 2013, says it’s important to get off to a solid start.

“It’s more like a sprint out there this year, so you try and play very aggressively,” Rutledge said. ”

Jean LaForce, Don Graham, David Miller and Marc Girouard round out the top five after rounds of 3-under-par 67.

In total, 17 players are within five shots of the lead heading into Thursday’s final 18-holes at Beverly Golf & Country Club.

For the full leaderboard, click here.

Graham leads the Super-Senior division (60 years and older) by three shots over Daniel Talbot and Gar Hamilton. Two-time Super-Senior champion Norm Jarvis sits six shots off the pace

Attendance to the Mr. Lube PGA Seniors’ Championship of Canada presented by Adams Golf is free and spectators are encouraged to attend during tournament play.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Barely able to tie his shoes three days ago, Tiger Woods is ready to tee it up in the PGA Championship.

Woods caused the biggest sensation of the week 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 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 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.

That was only his third tournament since his return from surgery, leading to concern that he might be done for the year.

“It was a different pain than what I had been experiencing,” Woods said. “So I knew it wasn’t the site of the surgery. It was different and obviously it just the sacrum.”

His arrival put some life into what had been an ordinary week. Dozens of cameras captured Woods putting on his shoes with ease at his car. He got a big cheer just walking onto the practice range and the crowd was six-deep down the first hole, about like it was for the Ryder Cup at Valhalla six years ago.

In the nine holes he played with Steve Stricker, Davis Love III and Harris English, Woods looked the same as he did last week.

He drilled his driver down the first fairway. He badly pulled his tee shot on the third hole. It was a mixture of good and bad, about what can be expected from someone who has played only nine tournament rounds in the last five months.

“Nothing great,” Woods said. “It’s only Wednesday.”

Woods tees off Thursday alongside Phil Mickelson and Padraig Harrington. He simply said, “Yes,” when asked if he expected to win, which seemed to be a tall order considering his return from surgery. Woods missed the cut by four shots at the Quicken Loans National, had his worst 72-hole finish in a major at the British Open and was in the middle of the pack at Firestone when he withdrew.

Barring a victory, this likely will be his last tournament for at least six weeks.

Woods is not eligible for the FedEx Cup playoffs, and he hasn’t given U.S. captain Tom Watson much reason to pick him for the Ryder Cup. Woods said he would have to “play well” to give reason for Watson to take him.

“That’s the only thing I can control,” Woods said. “Try to go out there and win this event. That’s all I’m focused on.”

Watson has said he wanted Woods on the team if he was healthy and playing well. About the time Woods arrived at the course, Watson was successfully dodging questions about his chances of making the team.

“It’s speculation what’s going to happen,” Watson said. “I can’t tell you what’s going to happen with Tiger.”

The excitement over his arrival was sure to be tempered by the reality of the task ahead. Not only has Woods gone more than a year without winning – and six years since he last won a major – Rory McIlroy has replaced him as the overwhelming favorite. McIlroy went wire-to-wire at the British Open, then rallied from a three-shot deficit to win the World Golf Championship at Firestone.

Sergio Garcia was a runner-up both times. Garcia, who went 0-3 playing in the final group with Woods at three majors, was asked about similarities between the two.

“When they are both at their best, to me it seems like Rory is less afraid of hitting driver,” he said. “And when he’s hitting it as well as he’s hitting it now, he’s hitting it very far and quite straight. So it’s a little bit of an advantage at that point.”

Woods might have lost his advantage from being a past champion at Valhalla. He missed the Ryder Cup in 2008 while recovering from knee surgery, and course architect Jack Nicklaus has made plenty of changes, particularly on some of the greens. Woods spent much of his time chipping from collection areas that weren’t around 14 years ago.

“It’s a totally different golf course than what I played in 2000,” he said. “The greens are all different. I have my book from 2000 – it’s useless. There’s some new things that we have to learn out there.”

With that, he headed to the back nine to walk the remainder of the course with his putter. He had 15 hours before teeing off in the final major of the year.

Winnipeg – Corey Conners sits in the driver’s seat one-stroke in front of the field heading into the final round of the 110^th Canadian Men’s Amateur Championship.

The Listowel, Ont. native opened his third round by firing a 3-under 32 front-nine, but closed with four bogeys over his final six holes to finish with a 2-under 68. His 8-under 204 total leaves him one-stroke clear of New Mexico’s Sam Saunders.

“I’m happy with my score, just kind of disappointed with all the bogeys,” Conners said. “I’ll try to smooth things out a little bit, I don’t know I just kind of got out of my rhythm towards the end, got a little antsy or excited.”

Now leading the way, the Team Canada member will face a familiar challenge on Thursday over the final 18 holes at Elmhurst Golf and Country Club. The 22-year-old has finished no worse than third in his last three attempts at the national amateur championship title.

“I came here with the mindset that it’s my time to win and I’m just trying to do my thing out here and see what happens,” he continued. “It would definitely be nice, still another round to be played but I’ll give it my best.”

Playing alongside Conners, Saunders carded a 1-over 71 Wednesday. The Albuquerque, New Mexico native finished at 7-under 205 and cut Conners’ lead to a single stroke after his birdie putt found the bottom of the cup on the par-4 18^th hole.

“That was really big. On the tee I knew I needed to play that hole well and not make a bogey because I had just bogeyed the previous two holes,” Saunders said. “It was really important for me to play a good hole and I got lucky, I sort of hit in there as close as I think you can on that one and made a great putt.”

Brian Bullington of Frankfort, Ill. finished with a 1-under 69 to grab solo third at 6-under 206. Bullington currently sits one stroke ahead of Team Canada’s Adam Svensson of Surrey, B.C. and New Zealand’s James Beale who share fourth spot at 5-under.

Complete scoring, results and pairings can be found online here.

You may use a lucky coin as your ball marker.  Jarrett Stoll has you 1-up… He uses the Stanley Cup.

Stoll, a two-time Stanley Cup champion, won hockey’s most coveted championship in 2012 and 2014 as a member of the L.A. Kings.

This past weekend the Melville, Sask. native brought Lord Stanley’s Cup to a local Saskatchewan golf course, where he used it as a tee and ball marker. Enjoy! I bet he did.

Jarrett Stoll getting ready for a round of Golf with #stanleycup @HockeyHallFame @NHL @lakingspr # HNIC pic.twitter.com/ptK7NmyhE5

— Philip Pritchard (@keeperofthecup) August 4, 2014

Earlier this summer, Stoll and the L.A. Kings celebrated their latest cup win with a trip to an Los Angeles beach. Stoll brought his girlfriend, TV celebrity and sportscaster Erin Andrews, to the celebration.

#stanleycupchampions Jarratt Stoll and girlfriend Erin Andrews @KellyHockeyHall @HockeyHallFame @LAKings @NHL pic.twitter.com/MHXAbyEU37 — Philip Pritchard (@keeperofthecup) June 18, 2014

Tricksots with PGA TOUR Canada

PGA TOUR Canada players Drew Evans, Darren Wallace, Justin Peters, Micah Burke, Ben Silverman and Will Strickler show off their best trick shots for the Web.com Tour’s Trickshot Challenge. Take a look.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – After a bit of confusion, Tiger Woods finally arrived at Valhalla on Wednesday.

Now, to determine if he’s fit enough to compete in the PGA Championship.

For three days, there has been speculation about whether Woods’ ailing back would allow him to play in the final major of the year.

He was at least going to give it a shot, after some miscommunication with the PGA of America.

The organization sent out a release about noon saying Woods was at the course. Then, officials said they weren’t sure he had actually arrived. About 1:15 p.m. EDT, Woods pulled into his reserved parking spot.

He didn’t seem be in any pain as he got out of the car and changed shoes.

Sporting sunglasses and a goatee, Woods headed straight to the driving range with caddie Joe LaCava. Hundreds of fans crowded around a staircase as he crossed over above them, snapping photos of the 14-time major champion with their phones. He pulled out a wedge and started his session with some easy half-swings.

Woods planned to play a practice round in the afternoon to see if his back is fit enough to tee off Thursday. He has never missed three majors in one year since he played his first one as a 19-year-old amateur in 1995.

Woods had back surgery on March 31 and was out for three months, skipping the Masters and the U.S. Open. He returned in late June for the Quicken Loans National at Congressional, where he missed the cut by four shots. He finished 69th at the British Open.

At the Bridgestone Invitational on Sunday, Woods injured his lower back on the second hole of the final round after hitting an awkward shot from above a bunker and landing hard when he jumped back into the sand.

He was driven off the course after his tee shot on the ninth hole and headed home to Florida for treatment.

This was the latest Woods has ever arrived for a major. He has not seen Valhalla since he won the PGA Championship in 2000 in a playoff over Bob May. Woods was recovering from reconstructive knee surgery in 2008 when the Ryder Cup was played on the Jack Nicklaus design.

Woods’ absence led to endless photos of his vacant parking spot.

Now, that spot is filled.

“He still has a huge impact, especially on the media side,” Rickie Fowler said. “You can see all the attention with last week WD’ing and this week not registering, not sure if he’s playing yet. I want to see Tiger around, but I want to see him healthy and at his best.”

Woods must win the PGA Championship to qualify for the FedEx Cup playoffs.

More realistically, he wants to show U.S. Ryder Cup captain Tom Watson that he is healthy enough to be one of three wild-card picks for the September competition in Scotland.

“I can’t answer that yet,” Watson said Wednesday, speaking right about the time Woods arrived. “A lot can happen between now and then.”

Watson said he would take Woods’ at his word on the condition of his back.

“He’s always been straight up with me,” Watson said.