Tiger Woods to play at Safeway Open

Tiger Woods officially committed to play in his first tournament in more than a year, the PGA Tour announced on Friday.  

Woods announced last month that he was targeting next week’s Safeway Open in Napa, Calif., to end a 14-month layoff after multiple back procedures. Woods had until Friday to remove his name from the roster of players for the Tour’s 2016-17 season-opening event.

The 14-time major champ hasn’t played a competitive round of a PGA Tour event since Wyndham Championship in August 2015.

Woods, 40, has 79 Tour victories on his resume, the last coming at the 2013 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational. Woods underwent two surgeries on his back last fall. 

Woods said last month that he has been “smart about my recovery and didn’t rush it.” He also said he aimed to pay two other tournaments by year’s end: Turkish Airlines Open, Nov. 3-6, in Antalya, Turkey, and the Hero World Challenge, Dec. 1-4, at Albany in the Bahamas. 

“My rehabilitation is to the point where I’m comfortable making plans, but I still have work to do,” Woods said last month. “Whether I can play depends on my continued progress and recovery. My hope is to have my game ready to go.  … It could be a fun fall.”