W00ds confirms return to Phoenix

PHOENIX;

Tiger Woods is looking to play later this
month at the PGA Phoenix Open an event
the former world number one has skipped
since 2001 ,Woods
  confirmed on his website on Friday.

"It will be great to  return to Phoenix" the
14-time major champion said in an article
posted on tigerwoods.com which also confirmed
that after playing in Phoenix fromJanuary
29 to February 1 he would play in the
Farmers Insurance Open on February 5-8 at
Torrey Pines.

"The croweds 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"

Woods has not played in the tournament ,known
for rowdy fans and  loud cheers since a spectator
tossed an orange onto  green while he was putting,
Woods was heckled by a spectator in  1999 who
was later found to have a gun at that time.

Woods famously delighted the crowd with
an aceat  the 16tg in 1997.Woods ,chasing
the all time record of 18 majors won by Jack
Nicklous,returned last month from a four month
layoff due to a back injury at the Hero World
Challenge in Florida.

He had said he planned a 2015 schedule some
what different from his usual  campaign.
The event in Scottsdale finishes on February
1 just ahead of the National Football league's
Super Bowl championship spectacle in another
nearby Phoenix subueb,Glendale.

At Torrey Pines near La Jolla,California,Woods
will be returning to a course where he has won
eight times and where he collected his most
recent major  title at the 2008 US Open.

Woods ,who recently celebrated his 38th
birthday is starting his 20th year on the PGA
Tour,He has amassed 79 career victories,
second only to Sam Snead's on the all-time list'

AFP>