Woods ready to return, commits to Memorial

[July 10, 2020]  (Reuters) - Tiger Woods announced on Thursday that he will compete at next week's Memorial Tournament in Dublin, Ohio, the 15-times major champion's first PGA Tour event in five months.

"I'm looking forward to playing in the @MemorialGolf next week," Woods said on his Twitter account. "I've missed going out and competing with the guys and can't wait to get back out there."

Woods last competed on the PGA Tour in mid-February when he laboured through a final-round 77 at the Genesis Invitational where he finished last among players who made the cut.

The 44-year-old reigning Masters champion then skipped a number of events with back issues prior to the PGA Tour's three-month COVID-19 hiatus that began in mid-March and opted to sit out the circuit's first five events since the break.

Woods, who is one win shy of a record-breaking 83 PGA Tour victories, did play a May 24 charity match with Phil Mickelson and Super Bowl-winning quarterbacks Tom Brady and Peyton Manning.

The Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village is one of the most high-profile, non-major events on the PGA Tour and Woods has triumphed there a record five times, most recently in 2012.

Tiger Woods of the U.S. on the 18th hole during the second round REUTERS/Ian Walton

Woods will be part of a loaded field that also includes world number one Rory McIlroy, five-times major champion Phil Mickelson, 2018 Memorial champion Bryson DeChambeau and major winners Dustin Johnson and Sergio Garcia.

The July 16-19 tournament was originally supposed to have a limited number of spectators but earlier this week the PGA Tour scrapped plans to let fans attend due to COVID-19. [nL8N2ED4AD]

(Reporting by Frank Pingue in Toronto; Editing by Toby Davis)

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