Tiger Woods has announced a schedule for his return to golf, the first time he will be in a competitive tournament since August of last year.
Woods announced on Friday he will enter the Safeway Open, which begins next week in California, the first event on the PGA Tour's new season schedule.
He last played on August 23, 2015, a month before undergoing a second surgery on his back, and then a third one soon after that.
40-year-old Woods has never spent this long away from competition.
The No. 767 player in the world then plans to play the Turkish Airlines Open next month and his Hero World Challenge the first week in December, giving him three tournaments to end the year.
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To capitalise on the attention that will undoubtedly be generated by Woods' return, Safeway Open organisers are contemplating putting Woods and Phil Mickelson in a star-studded playing group for the opening round.
Woods was recently at the Ryder Cup as an assistant captain, mostly walking as he spent time with Dustin Johnson, Matt Kuchar, Jordan Spieth and Patrick Reed.
This week he was named an assistant to Presidents Cup Captain Steve Stricker, though Stricker said he would like to see Woods playing on the team.
Woods hasn't won since the 2013 Bridgestone Invitational, the 79th title of his PGA Tour career, three titles short of the record held by Sam Snead.
