Tiger Woods to make comeback in his own event

Tiger Woods is to play his first tournament in nine months after making himself available for the Hero World Challenge at the end of November.

Tiger Woods is to play in the Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas at the end of November. Picture: PA

Woods, who hosts the tournament in the Bahamas, is to return after back surgery which has kept him out of competitive action since he withdrew from the Dubai Desert Classic in February. The 14-times major winner underwent a fourth back operation in three years in April and his agent, Mark Steinberg, said this month that he had been cleared to resume full golf activity following a check-up with his surgeon.

Woods, 41, announced his participation in his own tournament with a post on Twitter which read: “I’d like to thank the committee of 1 for picking myself and Daniel Berger to play in this year’s HeroWorldChallenge.”

A statement on Woods’s official website read: “I am excited to return to competitive golf at the Hero World Challenge. Albany is the perfect setting and it will be great to join this outstanding field.

“I want to thank Pawan Munjal and Hero MotoCorp for their continued support of this tournament and my foundation. I would also like to thank the fans for their unwavering support during my injury.”

Woods, whose TGR Live organisation manages the Hero World Challenge, is joined in the field of 18 by Berger, who won his second PGA tournament this year and represented the US in the Presidents Cup.

The field also includes the world’s current top four ranked players – Dustin Johnson, Jordan Spieth, Hideki Matsuyama and Justin Thomas.

Woods was last week placed on probation for a year after pleading guilty to reckless driving. He was also ordered to undergo a diversion programme after being found by police officers passed out in his car with prescription drugs in his system on 29 May.

The American appeared at Palm Beach County Courthouse on 27 October where he was fined $250, ordered to pay $250 to Palm Beach County Victim Services, told to attend a driving under the influence school and complete 50 hours’ community service.

The Hero World Challenge runs from 30 November to 3 December.