11-18-2019, 02:01 AM
LOUISVILLE, Ky. Hansel Robles Angels Jersey . -- 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 hes 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 wasnt 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 rounds in the last five months. "Nothing great," Woods said. "Its 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 hasnt 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. "Thats the only thing I can control," Woods said. "Try to go out there and win this event. Thats all Im 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. "Its speculation whats going to happen," Watson said. "I cant tell you whats 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 favourite. 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 hes hitting it as well as hes hitting it now, hes hitting it very far and quite straight. So its 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 werent around 14 years ago. "Its a totally different golf course than what I played in 2000," he said. "The greens are all different. I have my book from 2000 -- its useless. Theres 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. Jake Jewell Angels Jersey . -- The Chicago Bears have agreed to terms with safety Brock Vereen and QB David Fales on four-year contracts. Taylor Cole Jersey . The fourth-year guard from Carleton University kicked off his varsity career with rookie of the year honours in 2011, before racking up three straight Mike Moser Memorial Trophies for outstanding player. https://www.cheapangels.com/113j-vladimi...ngels.html . Roma has a game in hand but now second place is even at risk for the capital side as Napoli moved to within three points with the win. "The result is not always fair," Roma coach Rudi Garcia said. "If we play like this until the end we will win many matches.CINCINNATI, Ohio -- Johnny Cueto fanned nine in seven innings on Saturday, and Brayan Pena singled through a drawn-in infield for the only run, leading the Cincinnati Reds to a 1-0 victory over the Washington Nationals that ended a seven-game losing streak. Cincinnati ended its longest losing streak in five years by getting several good defensive plays and another dominating performance by its All-Star starter. Cueto (11-6) gave up four hits and walked three. Left-hander Aroldis Chapman pitched out of a two-on, two-out threat in the eighth and finished for his 22nd save in 24 chances. He extended his streak of at least one strikeout in his last 43 appearances, the longest by a reliever in the majors since 1900. The Reds offence has been in a deep slump, leading to Cincinnatis worst losing streak coming out of the All-Star break since 1991. They managed only four hits during a 4-1 loss on Friday night. They got four hits again on Saturday, but this time it was enough. Penas single through the left side of a drawn-in infield in the fifth inning made the difference against left-hander Gio Gonzalez (6-6), who gave up four hits and fanned eight in seven innings. He has been tough on the Reds throughout his career. He was 2-0 in his previous four starts against Cincinnati with a 1.00 ERA, allowing three earned runs and fanning 32 in 27 innings. The Reds ended a slump that had dropped them back to .500 for the first time since June 24. Cueto had the most to do with it, hholding down a team that hit him hard the last time around. Adalberto Mejia Jersey. He fanned the side in the third and sixth innings, leaving after throwing his 103rd pitch. The right-hander had his roughest outing of the season on May 20 in Washington, where he gave up a season-high eight runs in 5 1-3 innings of a 9-4 loss. Chris Heisey set up Cincinnatis run in the fifth. He led off with a double -- only the Reds second hit off Gonzalez -- and stole third base with one out. Pena singled through the hole at shortstop. Pena also threw out Ian Desmond as he tried to steal second base after a leadoff walk in the ninth. Two exceptional plays in the Reds outfield prevented early runs. Centre fielder Billy Hamilton ran down Adam LaRoches fly with two runners aboard in the first. Right fielder Jay Bruce got to Wilson Ramos fly to the warning track and doubled Bryce Harper up at first base in the second inning. Harper got caught in a rundown between second and third base in the seventh inning after rounding too far on Ramos infield single. NOTES: RHP Doug Fister (9-2) starts the final game of the series against Cincinnatis Mat Latos (2-2), who will be making his eighth start since coming off the DL. ... Nationals leadoff hitter Denard Span singled off Cueto, leaving him 5 for 10 career against the right-hander. Span is 9 for 14 in his last three games overall. ... Reds SS Zack Cozart was hitless, extending his slump to 0 for 20. ' ' '