Yes, the P.G.A. Championship Is Happening Now

Woods, 43, has not played since the Masters. He missed the Wells Fargo Championship in Charlotte, NC, where he won earlier, but not, he said, due to some physical disability.

Woods, who has had four back operations since 2014, hinted at a disappointment on Tuesday after his emotional Masters ended. "I wasn't ready to re-practice all those hours and prepare and log all those hours," he said, adding, "Here is another story. I could log in for hours, free up time and feel rested and ready. "

Woods, a quadruple PGA champion, is scheduled to tick at 8:24 pm Thursday with Brooks Koepka and Francesco Molinari.

To argue, Woods must drive the ball as well as he did at Augusta National. The 7400-yard Bethpage Black layout is a beast with two 500-yard par-4 & # 39; s. The rugged is thicker than a hockey-playoff beard and the ball doesn't fly that far in kil again. Not that Max Homa, the winner of the Charlotte tournament, seemed to notice Tuesday; he won the long-distance competition with an attempt of 318 yards.

"If you can't find the fairway here, I think you'll encounter real problems," said Koepka, who stopped Woods winning last year's PGA Championship at Bellerive Country Club and ending behind Woods at the Masters.

In 29-year-old Koepka, Woods could finally find the real rival that escaped him in his prime.

"I don't see it as a rivalry," Koepka said, "although it is fun to play against him, the best player to ever play the game."