The jury is out, of course, on whether he can bounce back from the freefall that began after Woods crashed his SUV outside his Florida home in November of 2009.
It's been more than two months since Woods teed it up in competition, after he withdrew from the Players Championship on May 12 with injuries to his knee and Achilles tendon.
There's no telling what kind of shape Woods' game is in, but he says that physically, he's good to go. On Thursday, he tweeted: "feeling fit and ready to tee it up at Firestone next week."
He did pick a good time to return—Woods has won this event seven times and has 10 top-10 finishes in 11 appearance. And because it's a WGC tournament, there will be no cut, which would seem to take off some pressure and give Woods a chance to work his way back into competition a bit.
The WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, which tees off on Thursday, August 3 at Firestone Country Club in Akron, Ohio, will be Woods' first tournament since he fired caddie Steve Williams. According to The Golf Channel, Woods' childhood friend Bryon Bell—president of Tiger Woods Design—will be on the bag at Bridgestone. Bell has caddied for Woods three times before, including in 1999 when he won the Buick Invitational.
Hunter Mahan won the 2010 event with a 12-under-par 268 total, two strokes better than second-place-finisher Ryan Palmer. Woods finished tied for 78th at 298.
World Golf Championships Bridgestone Invitational
Firestone Country Club
Akron, Ohio
August 3-7, 2011
Source:
Tiger Woods plans return, ESPN
Yahoo News