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LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Joe LaCava walked nearly every blade of grass on the 18th green at Valhalla Golf Club, jotting notes in his yardage book after stepping off the distances from every edge of the green to every possible pin position. It was just like any other Monday at a major. The caddie just didnt know whether any of this information would be useful in the PGA Championship. LaCava was awaiting word on whether his boss -- Tiger Woods -- would be healthy enough to play the final major of the year. "Im optimistic," LaCava said after he finished charting the entire golf course. "Im hoping he plays. So Im just doing whatever work I would normally do." The caddie was at Valhalla. So was his car, a silver SUV parked in the spot assigned to the four-time PGA champion. As for Woods? Stay tuned. His agent, Mark Steinberg at Excel Sports Management, said in an email that Monday would be too early for doctors to decide whether Woods could or even should try to play this week after another back injury. The PGA of America said that Woods would not have his previously scheduled news conference Tuesday morning. It did not provide additional details. Woods took another turn toward an uncertain future when he withdrew after eight holes and one final shot Sunday at the Bridgestone Invitational. Before leaving Firestone, he said he jarred his back when he hopped into a deep bunker after playing a shot on the par-5 second hole from an awkward lie off the slope above the sand. "Its just the whole lower back," Woods said. "I dont know what happened." Making the picture look even bleaker was the timing. Woods had back surgery March 31 to alleviate the pain from a pinched nerve. The Bridgestone Invitational was only his third tournament since returning from a three-month absence. And there he went again, riding off the golf course in a cart, struggling to even remove his shoes before LaCava drove him to the airport for a flight back to Florida for evaluation. "Obviously, I feel bad for him," Rory McIlroy told the BBC on Monday. "The game of golf really needs Tiger. Hes had a few withdrawals the past couple of years. I think the first thing is just to get fit and 100 per cent healthy, even if that means taking the year off and coming back next year ready to play golf." If he doesnt play the PGA Championship, his season indeed would be over. Woods has to win the final major of the year to qualify for the FedEx Cup playoffs. He would have to win to clinch a spot on the Ryder Cup team. And by the sound of U.S. captain Tom Watson, he would have to play at Valhalla to even merit consideration as a wild-card selection. "Tiger would be a great addition to our team," Watson told SiriusXM PGA Tour Radio on Monday. "Ive said all along, I would pick Tiger Woods if hes healthy and playing well. This doesnt bode well right now. I just hope that maybe its just an isolated problem that he can turn around and possibly play this week at the PGA." Watson said he watched the entire front nine and knew something was wrong with Woods after his tee shot on the par-3 fifth hole came up 65 yards short. "You dont hit that terrible a shot ever -- ever," Watson said. "And I said, Something is wrong." LaCava noticed it much earlier, when Woods hit a shot so heavy that it came up 30 yards short of the flag and into the water on the third hole. "I knew he was hurting when he fatted the one on 3, which he never does," LaCava said. "He never fats them like that." Woods kept playing, though, until grimacing on a tee shot at the ninth, slowly bending to remove his tee and calling for a cart to take him in. Why not stop sooner? "Hes tough," LaCava said. "Tough and stubborn would be two good words." Woods has not been back to Valhalla in 14 years, not since that high-charged playoff victory over Bob May that gave Woods his third straight major on his way to an unprecedented sweep of the majors at the height of his game. Woods was recovering from season-ending knee surgery in 2008 and did not play in the Ryder Cup. The course has changed since, with Jack Nicklaus making various tweaks, especially around the green. The par is now 71 with the second hole changed to a par 4. Otherwise, it looked to be in immaculate conditions on the first day of practice. Phil Mickelson, coming off a 62 in the final round at Firestone, played nine holes. The practice range and chipping area were crowded with players. McIlroy already was back at work, having established himself as the overwhelming favourite coming off his wire-to-wire win at the British Open and rallying from three shots behind to win at Firestone. Still to be determined is whether Woods would be able to join them. 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Wholesale Shoes Canada . 9 Baylor Bears just needed some time to get on track in their first game after the Christmas break.Los Angeles, CA (SportsNetwork.com) - Mark Giordano scored the game-winning goal with 53 seconds left in overtime, Johnny Gaudreau tallied his first career hat trick and the Calgary Flames erased a three-goal deficit for a 4-3 win over the Los Angeles Kings on Monday. Jonas Hiller made 31 saves while Jiri Hudler and Dennis Wideman each supplied two assists for the Flames, who halted an eight-game skid for their first win since Dec. 4. You know, we fell behind but the guys were great on the bench, they were great in the room and we felt like we had a chance, Flames head coach Bob Hartley said. Johnny is so smart and so competitive. Were all talking about his speed and his skill, but look how competitive he is. Marian Gaborik, Jamie McBain, and Trevor Lewis each scored for the Kings, who had their two-game win streak come to an end. The score was not a good indication of the game, Kings head coach Darryl Sutter said. Halfway through the game they had a lot more desperation than our team. Jonathan Quick stopped 24-of-28 shots in defeat. Down 3-1, Calgary pulled its netminder with over two minutes to play. Gaudreau tracked down the puck behind the net and beat Quick on the wraparound for a one-goal game with 2:12 remaining. Hiller was yanked in favor of an extra attacker once again and it was Gaudreau who sent the game into overtime with his third goal of the night. The energetic rookie forward backhanded the puck off Kings defenseman Drew Doughtys skate and into the net with 59 seeconds to play.dddddddddddd With over a minute gone in the extra session, Hudler and Gaudreau raced in on a 2-on-0, but Quick made a pad stop on Gaudreaus offering. As time began to tick down towards a shootout, Giordano cut in from the left boards, made a power move on net and slipped the puck past Quick to complete Calgarys furious comeback. The Kings wasted no time getting on the board as Lewis shot from the right boards fooled Hiller 2:26 into the game. Anze Kopitar emerged from below the goal line and slipped a cross-crease pass to Gaborik, who whacked the puck into the net for a power-play goal with 2:10 remaining in the first. On the man advantage, McBain charged in from the point and one-timed Dustin Browns feed at the right circle for a 3-0 Kings lead at 4:32 of the middle stanza. The Flames had a late advantage and though Jarret Stoll blocked Widemans point blast, but the puck dribbled to Gaudreau, whose slapper from the right circle got the Flames on the board with 1:58 remaining in the second. Game Notes Gaudreau posted his first NHL hat trick through 36 career games, but had just one through 119 games spanning three seasons at Boston College ... Gaborik has scored a goal in five straight games, tying for the second-longest streak in the league this season after Dallas Jamie Benn did so from Oct. 14-24 ... Calgary has won three straight at Staples Center ... The two teams will resume their season series on Dec, 29 at the Saddledome. ' ' '