LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Maybe Tiger Woods should have stayed at home.

Looking much like a guy playing just his 11th competitive round since back surgery, Woods was spraying shots all over Valhalla and playing himself out of contention at the PGA Championship before heavy favorite Rory McIlroy even teed off Thursday.

“Oh, for … sake, Tiger!” he yelled at himself on No. 2, muttering an obscenity after yanking his tee shot near a creek, leading to a one-stroke penalty.

Woods underwent surgery March 31 and missed the first two majors of the year. He returned in time for the British Open, but struggled to his worst 72-hole finish in a major. Then he withdrew from the World Golf Championship at Firestone just four days ago after taking an awkward swing, hurting his back again.

He finally arrived at the PGA on Wednesday – with live television showing Woods parking his car and tying his golf shoes – and proclaimed himself fit.

It sure didn’t look that way.

Starting on the back side, Woods bogeyed both of the par-3s after missing the green, though he did salvage an unlikely birdie at the 16th by holing out a wedge from more than 100 feet away.

But he missed a chance to make up more ground at the easy 18th, knocking his drive into a fairway bunker at the par-5 hole, and things really took a turn for the worse after Woods made the turn.

He just couldn’t find any accuracy off the tee.

Woods drove one into a native area at the first, leading to a bogey. Then came another poor drive at the second, forcing him to take a drop and settle for his fourth bogey in 11 holes.

He was 3 over for the round and eight shots behind early leader Kevin Chappell. Edoardo Molinari of Italy was 4 under, while Ryder Cup hopeful Brendon Todd and perennial major contender Rickie Fowler led a group of players at 3 under.

This was a big week for Todd, who was 12th in the Ryder Cup standings and looking to push his way into an automatic spot at the final qualifying event. The top nine after Sunday will make the team, before captain Tom Watson fills out his roster with three wild-card picks.

Fowler has finished in the top five at the first three majors this year, but is still seeking his first championship. He was runner-up at both the U.S. Open and British Open.

Phil Mickelson, playing in the same group as Woods for one of the rare times at a major, was 1 over. Lefty was just out of the mix for a Ryder Cup spot, though it’s expected he would be a captain’s choice if he doesn’t qualify. Mickelson hasn’t won in nearly 13 months, since his victory at the 2013 British Open.

This is his longest drought since 2003.

Everyone seemed to be chasing McIlroy, who was the overwhelming favorite coming off wins at the British Open and at Firestone. The three-time major champion had an afternoon tee time.

One player who won’t be winning: Matt Kuchar, who withdrew just before teeing off because of back spasms.

John Huh took Kuchar’s place and joined the threesome with Louis Oosthuizen and Justin Rose.

Canada’s David Hearn and Graham DeLaet tee off at 1pm and 1:15pm (EDT).

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.

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.

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.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -Golf stories about Rory McIlroy are a lot more flattering than those a year ago. And if he reads too much into them, they can be a lot more dangerous.

McIlroy went wire to wire at Hoylake to win the British Open. Then, he overpowered Firestone on the weekend to win his first World Golf Championship. Now he is the overwhelming favorite at the PGA Championship. He is looked on in some corners as a sure thing, a label once reserved only for Tiger Woods.

Boy Wonder is not so sure about that.

“Sometimes I feel that people are too quick to jump to conclusions,” McIlroy said Tuesday before heading out for his first look at Valhalla. “I’ve had a great run of golf and I’ve played well over the past few months. Look, I said at the start of the year that golf was looking for someone to put their hand up and sort of become one of the dominant players in the game. I felt like I had the ability to do that. And it’s just nice to be able to win a few tournaments and get back to where I feel I should be.”

He is No. 1 in the world again. He has three wins in his last seven starts. And with three legs of the career Grand Slam – only Woods and Jack Nicklaus were younger than the 25-year-old McIlroy when they achieved that – there was even talk about the start of a new era.

McIlroy wasn’t buying.

“I’m just really happy with where my golf game is at the minute, and I just want to try and continue that for as long as possible,” he said. “And people can say what they want to say. That’s fine. But I can’t read too much into it. … Because if you read everything that was being written, I’d turn up at the first tee on Thursday thinking I’d already won the tournament.”

The question lingered Tuesday whether Woods was going to make it to the first tee at all.

Woods injured his back Sunday – just four months after back surgery – and canceled his news conference Tuesday. There was no word on his prospects, presumably because he wanted to give himself as much time as possible to see if he could play.

Even if he did, that wouldn’t take the focus from McIlroy.

McIlroy appears to be in full flight, just as he was in his record victory at Congressional in the 2011 U.S. Open, and just as he was when he won the PGA Championship by a record eight shots in 2012, and then added three more wins the rest of the year against strong fields.

Valhalla, where Woods won 14 years ago, would appear to be suited for him. Then again, just about any course is for a guy who hits it long and straight.

McIlroy said his work in gym has added about 7 pounds of muscle in recent months, and he is now the heaviest he has been. He also has shortened his swing, which would make him more accurate off the tee.

“He’s such a great driver of the golf ball,” Phil Mickelson said as he looked back on McIlroy’s win at Firestone. “Even though the golf course was fairly tight and hitting fairways is important, he kept hitting drivers and he kept putting the ball in play and he kept playing the course aggressively and making birdies. And he plays to his strength. He’s just a very good talent. We’ve been waiting a year, year and a half now for it to turn. And it’s really turned for him. And he’s tough to beat.”

McIlroy was foundering at this time a year, missing the cut in three out of six tournaments, not even sniffing contention as he worked through equipment changes. The final touch was an alignment issue he solved after the Masters, and he is soaring now.

Of the 13 players to win a major and a World Golf Championship, McIlroy and Woods are the only ones to win them in consecutive starts. In the last 20 years, Woods, Padraig Harrington and Nick Price are the only players to win the final two majors of the year.

McIlroy ended Adam Scott’s 11-week run at No. 1, and his intent is to stay there.

“I think the right guy is at No. 1 at the moment,” Scott said. “I hope that I could go ahead and win this week and maybe go back to No. 1. But there’s no doubt Rory has played the best golf over the last few months.

“It’s only motivating to see Rory play so well,” he said. “I’ve said a lot that I feel this is my time, so I’ve got to beat whatever Rory is throwing out there.”

McIlroy considers this his best major, and the results bear that out. In five starts, he has finished out of the top 10 only one time. That was in 2011 in Atlanta, where he played the last three rounds with an arm injury after trying to hit a shot through a tree root.

Golf courses typically are softer in August because of the heat. Nicklaus courses tend to have generous fairways, not that McIlroy needs any help these days. The only change now is the perception.

“Expectations are higher. Hype is a little higher,” McIlroy said. “So it’s a little bit different this year.”

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – U.S. captain Tom Watson said Monday that Tiger Woods’ latest back injury “doesn’t bode well right now” for Woods playing in the Ryder Cup.

Watson told SiriusXM PGA Tour Radio he was watching the final round of the Bridgestone Invitational when Woods withdrew after hitting his tee shot on the ninth hole because of another injury to his back.

“Tiger would be a great addition to our team,” Watson said. “As I’ve said all along, I would pick Tiger Woods if he’s healthy and playing well. This doesn’t bode well right now. I just hope that maybe it’s just an isolated problem that he can turn around and possibly play this week at the PGA.”

Woods flew home to Florida on Sunday to be evaluated. It was not clear when he would know if he could play at Valhalla, where Woods won the PGA Championship in 2000. His caddie was on the course Monday.

Woods, in only his third tournament since returning from back surgery, said he jarred his lower back when he hopped into a deep bunker after playing an awkward shot from the slope of the bunker on the second hole at Firestone.

He tried to keep playing and hit some shockingly bad shots – one into the water on No. 3, another on the par-3 fifth that was 65 yards short of the flag.

“I watched him play almost the entire front nine,” Watson said. “And the shot he had at 5 … I said, `Something’s wrong with Tiger.’ You don’t hit that terrible a shot ever – ever. And then, of course, No. 9, he just couldn’t go any farther. It concerns me because that’s an injury that seems like he tried to address before and he’s come back from that particular injury.”

Watson said he sent Woods a text to tell him he was sorry about the injury, and “I hope you get well soon.”

Woods missed two majors and three months of the season after March 31 back surgery. He has no chance of making the Ryder Cup team unless he wins the PGA Championship. If he can’t play this week, that would be the end of his PGA Tour season until after the Ryder Cup.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – There were lots of jokes, some big swings, few surprises and zero injuries – unless you count bruised egos.

That’s how the scorecard read from Tuesday’s long-drive competition at the PGA Championship.

But the real takeaway: Jack Nicklaus still rules.

Once a fixture during practice week of the season’s final major, the long-driving contest had been on hiatus for a half-century. It returned to mixed reviews, with the victory going to Louis Oosthuizen, one of the tour’s longer hitters. He smacked his tee shot at the par-5 10th an impressive 340 yards.

But it seems a little less impressive when you consider that Nicklaus, who won the competition the last two years it was staged previously (1963-64), captured the first of those with a drive of 341 yards, 17 inches – and he was using a small, persimmon-headed driver and wound balata golf ball at the time.

“Incredible,” marveled 21-year-old Justin Spieth, already one of the longer-hitting pros. “He must have had a nice little wind behind him.”

In fairness, the grandstand behind the 10th tee at Valhalla Golf Club stopped some of the breeze at the golfers’ backs. But it gave them a sometimes-stoked audience for their powerful swings. One fan looked up at the board to see John Daly, once the biggest gun out on tour, languishing in 10th and turned to a friend.

“What did he hit,” he asked, “a hybrid (club)?”

No. But usually fun-loving Bubba Watson, who has won two Masters, leads the tour in average driving distance and owns a hovercraft outfitted to look like a golf cart, decided to boycott the event and hit 3-iron off the tee instead.

“I don’t see that we should have a competition like that while we’re playing a practice round and learning the golf course, trying to win a great championship,” Watson said afterward. “There’s no reason to make something up in the middle of the practice round like that. That’s just me. Like it or not, that’s just who I am. That’s just what I think.”

Fortunately, not everyone was such a spoilsport. The best group of the day, to no one’s surprise, was led by Phil Mickelson. Lefty often puts together money games during the practice week leading up to a major, and his playing partners included power hitters Keegan Bradley and Rickie Fowler, as well as Brendan Steele.

Bradley set the tone by crushing his drive 326 yards, rolling past the marker at 320 that Adam Scott laid down going off the 10th tee first at 6:45 a.m. But that celebration didn’t last long; Fowler promptly uncorked a 328-yarder and then, for good measure, turned back in the direction of the cheering grandstand and flexed his biceps.

By the time Spieth arrived close to 2 p.m., his caddie, Michael Greller, a former sixth-grade teacher, looked over at the golfer and counseled, “I wouldn’t even try.”

Spieth was wolfing down a sandwich with a mischievous gleam in his eye. Alongside him was Scotsman Russell Knox, who was assessing the board.

“Look,” Knox said. “All 314 (yards) will get you is 10th. Great.”

He looked down at the sandwich he was holding. “I don’t want people to see my 272,” Knox said.

A PGA official who was standing nearby with tracking equipment tried to cheer him up.

“The shortest guy right now,” he said, “is Tom Watson at 264.”

No one bothered to add that Watson, a contemporary of Nicklaus, turns 65 in a month. But Knox slowly walked up to the tee, pounded out a respectable 311-yard effort and then Spieth followed with a booming drive that wound up in the right rough. Greller breathed a sigh of relief as Spieth headed down the fairway no worse for the effort.

“The goal?” Spieth said, smiling. “Just try not to hurt yourself.”

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – There were lots of jokes, some big swings, few surprises and zero injuries – unless you count bruised egos.

That’s how the scorecard read from Tuesday’s long-drive competition at the PGA Championship.

But the real takeaway: Jack Nicklaus still rules.

Once a fixture during practice week of the season’s final major, the long-driving contest had been on hiatus for a half-century. It returned to mixed reviews, with the victory going to Louis Oosthuizen, one of the tour’s longer hitters. He smacked his tee shot at the par-5 10th an impressive 340 yards.

But it seems a little less impressive when you consider that Nicklaus, who won the competition the last two years it was staged previously (1963-64), captured the first of those with a drive of 341 yards, 17 inches – and he was using a small, persimmon-headed driver and wound balata golf ball at the time.

“Incredible,” marveled 21-year-old Justin Spieth, already one of the longer-hitting pros. “He must have had a nice little wind behind him.”

In fairness, the grandstand behind the 10th tee at Valhalla Golf Club stopped some of the breeze at the golfers’ backs. But it gave them a sometimes-stoked audience for their powerful swings. One fan looked up at the board to see John Daly, once the biggest gun out on tour, languishing in 10th and turned to a friend.

“What did he hit,” he asked, “a hybrid (club)?”

No. But usually fun-loving Bubba Watson, who has won two Masters, leads the tour in average driving distance and owns a hovercraft outfitted to look like a golf cart, decided to boycott the event and hit 3-iron off the tee instead.

“I don’t see that we should have a competition like that while we’re playing a practice round and learning the golf course, trying to win a great championship,” Watson said afterward. “There’s no reason to make something up in the middle of the practice round like that. That’s just me. Like it or not, that’s just who I am. That’s just what I think.”

Fortunately, not everyone was such a spoilsport. The best group of the day, to no one’s surprise, was led by Phil Mickelson. Lefty often puts together money games during the practice week leading up to a major, and his playing partners included power hitters Keegan Bradley and Rickie Fowler, as well as Brendan Steele.

Bradley set the tone by crushing his drive 326 yards, rolling past the marker at 320 that Adam Scott laid down going off the 10th tee first at 6:45 a.m. But that celebration didn’t last long; Fowler promptly uncorked a 328-yarder and then, for good measure, turned back in the direction of the cheering grandstand and flexed his biceps.

By the time Spieth arrived close to 2 p.m., his caddie, Michael Greller, a former sixth-grade teacher, looked over at the golfer and counseled, “I wouldn’t even try.”

Spieth was wolfing down a sandwich with a mischievous gleam in his eye. Alongside him was Scotsman Russell Knox, who was assessing the board.

“Look,” Knox said. “All 314 (yards) will get you is 10th. Great.”

He looked down at the sandwich he was holding. “I don’t want people to see my 272,” Knox said.

A PGA official who was standing nearby with tracking equipment tried to cheer him up.

“The shortest guy right now,” he said, “is Tom Watson at 264.”

No one bothered to add that Watson, a contemporary of Nicklaus, turns 65 in a month. But Knox slowly walked up to the tee, pounded out a respectable 311-yard effort and then Spieth followed with a booming drive that wound up in the right rough. Greller breathed a sigh of relief as Spieth headed down the fairway no worse for the effort.

“The goal?” Spieth said, smiling. “Just try not to hurt yourself.”

AKRON, Ohio – From links of Britain to the parkland of America, Rory McIlroy is on top of the world again.

In his first start since a wire-to-wire win at the British Open, McIlroy wiped out a three-shot deficit in only three holes and closed with a 4-under 66 on Sunday to win the Bridgestone Invitational and return to No. 1 in the world.

And just like at Royal Liverpool two weeks ago, Boy Wonder made it look easy.

Sergio Garcia had a three-shot lead going into the final round at Firestone. McIlroy fired off three straight birdies and already had the lead when he stood on the fourth tee. He took over the lead for good with an 8-foot birdie putt on the 11th hole, got some breathing room when Garcia made bogey on the 15th hole, and the 25-year-old from Northern Ireland cruised home to a two-shot victory.

Garcia closed with a 71, though his runner-up finish was enough to move him to No. 3 in the world.

McIlroy became the 13th player with a major and a World Golf Championship, and joined Tiger Woods as the only players to win them in consecutive starts.

Woods wasn’t around to see it.

Just four months after back surgery, and in his third tournament since his return, Woods injured his lower back when he landed with a thud in the stand from an awkward stance atop a bunker on the second hole. He withdrew after a tee shot on the ninth hole, bending over slowly and struggling to remove the tee from the ground.

It was not clear Woods could play in the PGA Championship next week.

McIlroy heads south to Valhalla with a full head of steam. After a brief celebration with the claret jug, he was determined to move forward and chase more titles over the final four months of the year. He backed it up with a powerful performance on a soggy Firestone course to take the top spot in the world from Adam Scott.

McIlroy finished at 15-under 265 and won $1.4 million, leaving him $765 short of Bubba Watson on the PGA Tour money list.

More important was the world ranking.

He lost the No. 1 position in March 2013 when his game was in a downward spiral as he was adjusting to a new equipment deal and going through another management change. But since winning the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth at May, his game looks as strong as ever.

“It feels like a long time since I lost that No. 1 spot, but it feels good to be back on top,” McIlroy said. “Hopefully, I can keep it for a while.”

Garcia was a runner-up to McIlroy for the second straight time.

The Spaniard had the daunting task of making up a seven-shot deficit at the British Open, and Garcia put up a great fight until finishing two shots behind at Hoylake. Staked to at three-shot lead at Firestone, it didn’t go much better.

Garcia missed a 6-foot birdie on the par-5 second hole with a putt that never looked as if it was going in. His lead down to one, Garcia pulled his tee shot into the gallery on the third hole, striking a woman on the hand and knocking the diamond out of her ring. The diamond was found, about the lone bright spot in his day. Garcia made bogey, and McIlroy rolled in another birdie putt to take the lead.

They were tied at the turn when Garcia made a 15-foot putt for his only birdie of the day, and McIlroy missed from 6 feet. But two holes later, with both players about 8 feet away for birdie, McIlroy made and Garcia missed, and the Spaniard never caught up.

Marc Leishman (67) finished alone in third.

Patrick Reed holed out for eagle on No. 17 in his round of 65 and gave him a tie for fourth, enough to move him up to No. 7 in the Ryder Cup standings and boost his hopes of making his first team with only the PGA Championship left in the qualifying period.

Phil Mickelson made 10 birdies for a career-best 62 at Firestone.

None of that could top McIlroy, who put on another exhibition with his driver that made Firestone look like child’s play.

“It’s the foundation of my game when I drive it like that,” McIlroy said. “I have a pretty good chance to win most weeks, and I’ve shown that the last couple of weeks. Hopefully, going into Valhalla in good form and I’ll try to get three in a row.”