Tiger to open his PGA Tour season at Pebble Beach

Tiger Woods is headed back to Pebble Beach, the site of some of his most famous golf victories.

Woods announced his commitment to playing the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, to be played Feb. 9-12, on his website Monday.  It will be Tiger's first appearance in the event since 2002, when he tied for 12th place.

While he'll be making his 2012 debut at the Abu Dhabi Championship on Jan. 26, Woods' U.S. debut will conjure up the images of some of golf's most impressive performances.

Tiger made six consecutive appearances in the event from 1997-'02, including his memorable win in 2000, when he closed with a final-round 64 that included a pitch-in eagle on 15 and birdies on 16 and 18. Matt Gogel was seven shots clear of Woods at one point, but Tiger's clutch play down the stretch gave him a two-stroke victory.

That was just a foreshadow of Woods' masterful play at Pebble, of course. Just a little more than three months, Tiger put together one of the most dominant performances in golf history with his 15-stroke victory in the 2000 U.S. Open, the largest margin of victory in a major championship.

Just how good was his 2000 win? Our editors put his historic win in perspective just before his return to Pebble Beach in 2010.

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-- Stephen Hennessey

How excited are you for Tiger's 2012 season? Does his commitment to Pebble add to your excitement and interest to watch one of golf's more legendary events? Join the conversation on our partner site, GolfWRX.com.