Great news for golf fans with Tiger Woods ending a five-month competition absence to tee-up in next week’s Jack Nicklaus hosted Memorial in Dublin, Ohio.
Woods is a former five-time winner of the Memorial and will be competing for a first occasion in official competition since hosting February’s Genesis Invitational in suburban L.A.
Woods did tee-up on May 24th in the Capital One’s The Match: Champions for Charity at his ‘home’ Medallist Club in Hobe Sound, Florida.
Woods went onto his 6.5m followers on Twitter to say: “I’m looking forward to playing in the @MemorialGolf next week. I’ve missed going out and competing with the guys and can’t wait to get back out there.”
Joining Woods in the Memorial will be current World No.1 Rory McIlroy along with World No. 2 Jon Rahm and major champions Webb Simpson, Patrick Reed, Jordan Spieth and Justin Rose, who won the 2010 edition of the Memorial.
These latest commitments strengthen Memorial’s world-class field that already includes Jason Day, Sergio Garcia, Dustin Johnson, Phil Mickelson, Justin Thomas and Bubba Watson, all owners of major titles.
The 2020 Memorial Tournament will be contested next week, July 14-19, in conjunction with the PGA Tour’s adjusted tournament schedule due to the Coronavirus pandemic and, in short, meaning ‘no spectators’ for a sixth straight week since the Tour restarted on June 11th in Ft. Worth.
Woods, 44, will be making his 18th appearance in the prestigious invitational Tournament hosted by golf legend Jack Nicklaus. His scoring average of 70.25 is tied for third best at the Memorial, and he is No. 1 in total earnings with $5,373,205.
The Jupiter, Fla., resident has recorded victories in two of his last seven starts at Muirfield Village Golf Club, most recently in 2012 when his incredible shot on the 70th hole, a chip-in birdie at the par-3 16th hole, vaulted him to his 73rd PGA Tour victory, which tied the Golden Bear on the all-time list.
Woods has since increased his Tour win total to 82, tied with 1984 Memorial Tournament Honoree Sam Snead for most wins in PGA Tour history. A sixth victory at the Memorial Tournament next week would give Woods sole possession of the record.
An 11-time recipient of the Jack Nicklaus Award for PGA Tour Player of the Year, Woods, a 15-time major championship winner and two-time FedEx Cup champion, returned to competition in 2018, after undergoing spinal fusion surgery in 2017.
He made his first official Tour start of the 2017-18 season at the 2018 Farmers Insurance Open and made his first cut on Tour in two years, en route to a T-23 finish. Woods capped off his comeback campaign with a stellar triumph at the 2018 Tour Championship for his first title since 2013 and then won a historic fifth Green Jacket at the 2019 Masters Tournament.
With the victory, Woods became the second-oldest winner at Augusta National behind Nicklaus (1986/46 years, 2 months, 23 days) and added the Masters to a list of seven PGA Tour events, including the Memorial, at which he has collected five or more victories. Woods has recorded two top-10 finishes this season over three starts, including his win at the ZOZO Championship, and is currently ranked No. 14 in the World.
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