Tiger Woods returns to PGA Tour next week

Tiger Woods will make his first PGA Tour start since February at next week’s Memorial Tournament.

The 15-time major winner pulled out of the Players Championship in March with a back injury before the coronavirus shutdown.

Professional men’s golf in the US has resumed behind closed doors and Woods is set to resume his season in Ohio from 16-19 July.

“I’ve missed going out and competing with the guys,” Woods, 44, said.

“I can’t wait to get back out there.”

Woods, who has won the Memorial Tournament five times, finished 68th in his last PGA Tour appearance at the Genesis Open in February.

The legend last played publicly in a charity match that saw him and Peyton Manning beat Phil Mickelson and Tom Brady in an event that raised $20m (£16.4m) for coronavirus relief efforts in the United States.

He is aiming to defend the Masters title he won for a fifth time in 2019 when the rescheduled tournament takes place from 12-15 November at Augusta National.

The rearranged USPGA Championship is now set to be the first major of the year in San Francisco from 6-9 August and the US Open is to be played at Winged Foot in New York State from 17-20 September, while the Open Championship has been cancelled.