The question was inevitable and the answer was
predictable. Tiger Woods says his back is fine.
Woods played in the pro-am Thursday morning at the
Deutsche Bank Championship and appeared to be swinging freely. The last image
of Woods on a golf course looked much worse. Four days ago, he dropped to his
knees after a back spasm during the final round of The Barclays, where he
finished one shot behind Adam Scott.
Woods said after that round it was ''hypothetical''
whether he would play the Deutsche Bank, adding that he had just walked off the
course and wasn't feeling very good.
Golf Channel had a camera on the practice range at
the TPC Boston to document his arrival. Woods warmed up, and then headed to the
first tee for his pro-am round with a group that included New York Mayor
Michael Bloomberg.
One of his amateurs asked Woods about his back, and
Woods gave a short answer that he was fine.
The Deutsche Bank Championship is the second
playoff event for the FedEx Cup. Woods remains No. 1 in the standings, narrowly
ahead of Scott with Phil Mickelson at No. 3. Those three players will be in the
featured group the opening two rounds of the tournament that starts Friday for
its traditional Labor Day finish.
Woods, who already has his 10th season of at least
five wins on the PGA Tour, has still not made it through an entire season without
a health issue since returning from reconstructive knee surgery in 2009.
He missed two tournaments this summer - including
the AT&T National, which benefits his foundation - because of an elbow
injury suffered in early May. He had tightness in his lower back during the
final round of the PGA Championship, one week after his seven-shot win at
Firestone.
Woods said last week he experienced stiffness in
his lower back and neck because of a soft mattress in his New York-area hotel.
He decided to only chip and putt on the back nine of his pro-am last week at
Liberty National as a precaution. Over the next four days, he said his back was
OK at the start of the round but got progressively worse.
The FedEx Cup playoffs take a one-week break next
week before resuming north of Chicago.
source: yahoo
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