The Loop
Tiger Woods commits to Farmers Insurance Open and Honda Classic
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It's official, Tiger Woods will make his 2017 PGA Tour debut at the Farmers Insurance Open. The tournament (Jan. 26-29) announced news of the 14-time major champ committing to the field in a Wednesday afternoon press release.
“We’re thrilled our fans will have the opportunity to see Tiger in addition to what is already a very strong field for the Farmers Insurance Open,” Farmers Insurance tournament director Peter Ripa in the release. “He has experienced tremendous success at Torrey Pines and in our tournament, and we couldn’t think of a better place for him to start the year. Tiger’s presence will add to a deep and talented field that includes many of the top stars in the game as well as some exciting up-and-coming players.”
The release also says this will be Woods' first event of 2017. Previously, it was believed he could begin his year a week earlier at the Abu Dhabi Championship on the European Tour. His agent, Mark Steinberg, has also indicated Woods could play in the Omega Dubai Desert Classic, which is the week after the Farmers Insurance Open.
Woods has won eight times at Torrey Pines, which has been a traditional spot for him to start his season. In addition to capturing that epic 2008 U.S. Open, Woods has won the PGA Tour's annual tour stop at the La Jolla course seven times, most recently in 2013.
This will be Woods' first official PGA Tour event and first full-field event since a T-10 at the 2015 Wyndham Championship. After that finish, Woods had two back surgeries and sat out the entire 2015-2016 season before returning in December at the Hero World Challenge. Woods led the field with 24 birdies that week, but only finished 15th in the 18-man field.
Other early commitments to the field at Torrey Pines include Jason Day, Dustin Johnson, Phil Mickelson and Rickie Fowler. Woods had previously committed to play in the Genesis Open at Riviera in February.
But that wasn't the only Tiger scheduling news on the first Wednesday of 2017. Shortly after word of Woods' commitment to the Farmers Insurance Open broke, the Honda Classic also announced an early Woods commitment:
Again, as with the Torrey Pines announcement, Woods playing in the Palm Beach event isn't too surprising considering he lives in nearby Jupiter, Fla. But still. . . Two early tournament commitments from Tiger Woods? In the same day? If this is a New Year's resolution, we're all about it.