Thursday 4 January 2018 22:01, UK
Tiger Woods has confirmed he will make his return to full-field PGA Tour action at the Farmers Insurance Open later this month.
Woods made an encouraging return to competitive golf at the Hero World Challenge in December after a lengthy rehabilitation from spinal fusion surgery, and he is optimistic of being able to play a full schedule in 2018.
He will tee up at Torrey Pines, where he has won eight times including the 2008 US Open, and he has also announced he has committed to play in the Genesis Open at Riviera Country Club in mid-February.
The 42-year-old missed the cut at last year's Farmers Insurance Open and then managed only one round of the Dubai Desert Classic the following week before withdrawing due to back problems, which forced him to have a fourth operation on his back.
Woods, who has not played competitively at Riviera since 2006, tweeted: "Excited to start my season off in SoCal at @FarmersinsOpen and @genesisopen".
A statement from the 14-time major champion on the Genesis Open website added: "I'm very excited to be back at Riviera. I haven't played at Riviera in a tournament in a very long time.
"To be able to play in an event that I used to come to as an amateur, as a junior and now as the tournament host, that is on one of the most historic sites in all of golf, it's a dream come true."
Woods played his first PGA Tour event at the Genesis Open in 1992 while still a 16-year-old amateur, and it remains one of the few regular tournament venues in the United States where he has yet to win, although he was runner-up in 1998.
His "TGR Live" charity manages the Genesis Open and proceeds from the tournament benefit his foundation.
