On the eve of his attempt for a third successive American Express world championship title, the world number two managed only seven holes of his practice round and could not be certain that he would be teeing off with Luke Donald and KJ Choi at 12.50pm today.

For the past week Woods has been bothered by pain between his shoulder blades, brought on, he believes, by sleeping awkwardly on a flight from New York back to his Orlando home.

“Just a couple of rib heads aren’t gliding properly. It spasmed up and hasn’t been the same since,” he said.

“I’ve never had back pain in my life, so this is all new to me. I guess this is what happens when you get older.”

Woods, of course, is still only 28.

“If I am able to go I’ll go. If I can’t then I won’t. I’ve never been one to pull out of tournaments and quit just because I’m physically sore,” he added.

“But if I can’t actually swing a golf club then it’s pretty tough to play.”

That is what makes it different to the knee trouble he had during the 2002 season before finally undergoing surgery.

“It hurt a lot, but I could play through that. This one you just can’t swing a golf club – it’s as my shoulder blade contracts, right at impact and beyond impact.”

Woods reckoned he could have completed 18 holes yesterday if he had pushed it, but there was no point. Much better to get further treatment and hope that another loosening-up session in the fitness bus this morning would enable him not just to play, but play how he wants to.

Some would say it has been a long time since Woods has played how he wants to - he will be without a single stroke play title to his name if he does not triumph on Sunday.

But he was second in his two events before the Ryder Cup – and losing three games at Oakland Hills was not all down to him, of course.

He was beaten twice on the opening day with Mickelson, but still thinks Hal Sutton’s pairing of them had a lot of merit.

“We were so close to winning both matches, but we just didn’t get it done. It happens,” he said.

“We were excited about playing together. We were both playing well going into the event.”

With his close friend Mark O’Meara heavily tipped to take over from Sutton, Woods can expect to be heavily involved in America’s planning for their bid to prevent a fifth defeat in six matches at the K Club in Dublin in 2006.

He also likes the idea put to him this week of having a vice-captain’s role to play.

“I’d like to work with the captain on the pairings and team strategy and working on the whole concept of bringing the team together and doing what I can to make our team successful at the end of the week,” he said.

“I basically kind of do that now, but if I were a vice-captain it would have an official role.”

Woods also wants America to become like Europe by selecting their Ryder Cup team over one year rather than two.

Following their heaviest-ever defeat, the United States have been accused of shooting themselves in the foot by starting their points race so far in advance.

“I have never been happy with that,” he said. “To get the true team that’s playing the best, we’re going to have to go to a one-year period, like the Europeans do.”

This year’s American side was actually chosen over three seasons, but that was a one-off caused by the postponement of the 2001 side. Stewart Cink was the only member of the team who had won a tournament since the end of May.

Ten of Europe’s Ryder Cup side were in action today – and with Singh absent and Woods ailing, the tournament is an obvious opportunity not just for them to shine but also for the likes of Ernie Els and Retief Goosen to put themselves back in the spotlight.

There are only a few big opportunities left for them this year, although both are at next week’s dunhill links championship in Scotland and then the following week’s HSBC world match play at Wentworth.

They will not, however, be representing South Africa in the World Cup in Spain in November.

Goosen, still working his way back to full fitness after cracking his pelvis jet-skiing in July, is due to become a father for the second time that week - and Els has told him he will miss it as well.