Tiger Woods arrives at Valhalla

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Tiger Woods arrived at Valhalla Golf Club, site of the PGA Championship, on Wednesday afternoon for a practice round that might determine whether he can play in the year's final major.

Woods' status for the event has been in question since he withdrew from the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational with severe back pain on Sunday in Akron, Ohio. It was just his third event since undergoing surgery to alleviate a pinched nerve in his back on March 31.

He teed off in his practice round a little after 2 p.m. ET with Steve Stricker, who was just named an assistant captain for the U.S. Ryder Cup team by captain Tom Watson. Woods showed no signs of any discomfort after driving the ball and bending over to pick up his tee.

Woods is scheduled to tee off for the first round at 8:35 a.m. Thursday with Phil Mickelson and Padraig Harrington in his group.

Woods, 38, has already missed the Masters and the U.S. Open this year. He tied for 69th last month at the Open Championship. A four-time winner of the PGA, Woods won the tournament when it was played here in 2000.

This would be 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.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.