Out of action since August 2015 because of back problems and subsequent surgeries, Woods made it official Friday when he committed to play in the Safeway Open, the 2016-17 PGA Tour opener Oct. 13-16 in Napa, Calif., the Tour announced.
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Woods has been limited to 11 starts since the beginning of the 2014-15 season, and didn’t play on Tour in the 2015-16 season.
Along the way, there had been speculation that his brilliant career — 14 major victories and 79 Tour titles — might be over because of the nagging back problems.
As recently as a month ago, Woods had said he “hoped” to play in Napa, but didn’t say definitively that he would. Friday was the deadline to enter the tournament.
“My rehabilitation is to the point where I’m comfortable making plans, but I still have work to do,” Tiger said on his website . “Whether I can play depends on my continued progress and recovery. My hope is to have my game ready to go.”
He went on to say that while his absence from the Tour has been difficult, he wanted to be sure that when he returned he was back for good, unlike his previous comebacks from the back problems.
“It was difficult missing tournaments that are important to me,” he said, “but this time I was smart about my recovery and didn’t rush it.”
Woods didn’t play after withdrawing from the Farmers Insurance Open in early February 2015 until the Masters in April. His lone top 10 that season came in his last start, at the Wyndham Championship in August 2015, where he held a share of the 36-hole lead before finishing tied for 10th.
Shortly afterward, Woods had microdiscectomy surgery and then had a follow-up procedure in October 2015, his third surgery in 20 months.
Since then, Woods has been rehabbing and practicing.
He also served as a vice captain for the victorious U.S. Ryder Cup team last week at Hazeltine National.
