Tiger to return in Phoenix

Tiger Woods has confirmed he will make his first start of
2015 a week earlier than expected at the Waste
Management Phoenix Open.
The 39-year-old will tee up at TPC Scottsdale at the end
of this month in the best-attended tournament on the PGA
Tour schedule, with around 500,000 spectators likely to
pass through the gates over the week.
Woods has not played the event since 2001 as he usually
takes January off before heading to his beloved Torrey
Pines for the Farmers Insurance Open, where he is a
seven-time champion.
But after missing most of the 2014 campaign due to a back
problem that required surgery, Woods had hinted that he
would alter his early-season schedule in a bid to be as
"tournament-sharp" as possible ahead of the Masters in
April.
"It will be great to return to Phoenix," said Woods, who
made only seven starts on the PGA Tour last season and
finished last of the 18-man field in his Hero World
Challenge in Florida last month.
"The crowds are amazing and always enthusiastic, and the
16th hole is pretty unique in golf. Torrey is a very
important place to me. My pop took me there when I was
younger, and I have a lot of special memories of watching
the Tour play there when I was growing up.
"Starting my year off at Phoenix and Torrey in back-to-
back weeks, I'm ready to go. Should be a lot of fun."
Woods made an instant impression on the Phoenix Open
on his debut in 1997, when he sent the galleries wild with
a hole-in-one at the short 16th - one of the most raucous
holes in the golfing world.
He finished third in 1999 and fifth two years later, when he
caused a stir after recruiting several fans to move a huge
boulder that was blocking his direct path to the green -
forcing authorities to review the "loose impediment"
ruling.
This year now joins a high-profile field for this year's
event which includes long-time rival Phil Mickelson and
rising star Jordan Spieth.
But it is at Torrey Pines in California where he has had
unprecedented success with his seven wins, as well as his
famous play-off victory over Rocco Mediate in the 2008 US
Open - his last major win.
Courtesy: www.goal.com
Broadcast by Obele Calistus