The 14-time major champion had been considered a serious doubt for the final major of the year after withdrawing from the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational during last Sunday's final round at Firestone Country Club in Akron, Ohio.

The 38-year-old, who underwent surgery earlier this year to relieve a pinched nerve in his lower back that forced him to miss the Masters and US Open, appeared to suffer a relapse when he jumped into a bunker, the upshot of which saw him appear to be in considerable pain as he left the course.

Woods, though, said it was an injury unrelated to his surgery, rather a dispositioning of his sacrum, a large, triangular bone at the base of the spine.

“When I landed on the bunker, my sacrum went out. So, pinched the nerve and hence the spasm. My physio put it back in and we've just been treating it.”

Woods arrived at Valhalla on Wednesday afternoon local time and went through his normal practice routine on the range before playing the front nine of the 7458-yard course. Having spoken to the media he then walked the back nine, but only putted on the greens ahead of Thursday's opening round which will see him begin his bid for a fifth PGA Championship title at 1:35pm Irish time in the company of fellow former champions Phil Mickelson and Padraig Harrington.

“I feel good. Once the bone is put back in, it's all good. The inflammation has been down, I've had range of motion. As you saw out there, I got my speed, my power, and I just need to obviously keep moving.

“I'm not in any pain. That is the good part.”

As for his objectives in the championship this week, Woods added: “Just play well. That's the only thing I can control. Try to go out there and win this event. That's all I'm focused on.”