Tiger Woods will play his first professional tournament in seven months when he tees it up at Genesis Invitational at Torrey Pines.
Woods, a 15-time major champion and tournament host, has officially confirmed his participation, as announced by the event on Friday.
It will mark his first appearance in a non-major PGA Tour event since last year’s Genesis Invitational, where he withdrew after one round due to illness.
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Woods went on to finish 60th at the Masters but missed the cut in the other three majors as he continued to struggle with back issues and lingering leg injuries from his 2021 car crash.
His last competitive start came at The Open Championship in July. Following another back surgery in September, Woods returned to action at the PNC Championship family event alongside his 15-year-old son, Charlie, in December.
He has also participated in the TGL indoor simulator league, which he launched with Rory McIlroy this year.
The 49-year-old has a rich history at Torrey Pines, where he has claimed eight victories, including his legendary 2008 U.S. Open triumph in an 18-hole playoff against Rocco Mediate.
Two days after that win, Woods revealed he had played with a broken leg and subsequently underwent knee surgery.
The Genesis Invitational is typically held at Riviera Country Club in Los Angeles’ Pacific Palisades.
Woods’ participation will also be significant on a personal level, as he returns to competition just over a week after the passing of his mother, Kultida Woods, who died Tuesday at age 80.
Despite never winning at Riviera, Woods’ dominance at Torrey Pines makes it a fitting venue for his return. The course was the site of his most recent top-10 PGA Tour finish, a tie for ninth at the 2020 Farmers Insurance Open.
Widely regarded as one of the greatest golfers of all time, Woods will be playing—and walking—18 holes in competition for the first time since undergoing a microdiscectomy in September to alleviate pain in his legs, marking his sixth lower-back surgery.
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