CLEVELAND, Ohio — Tiger Woods, coming off a missed cut at the PGA Tour’s Farmers Insurance Open last week in California, competes in the European Tour’s Omega Dubai Desert Classic this week in United Arab Emirates. Woods has won the event twice (2006, 2008).
Dubai, United Arab Emirates is 9 hours ahead of Eastern Time, so the tournament begins late tonight ET.
Woods is part of a big-name field that includes 2016 Masters champion Danny Willett; 2016 Open Championship winner Henrik Stenson; two-time major winner Martin Kaymer; and European Tour legends Lee Westwood, Sergio Garcia, Darren Clarke and Ian Poulter.
Willett is defending champion.
OMEGA DUBAI DESERT CLASSIC TEE TIMES
Woods has won 79 PGA Tour official events, including 14 majors. He has not won overall since 2013 (five times) and is major-less since 2008 (U.S. Open).
Before Farmers, Woods’ most recent start in an official PGA Tour event came at the Wyndham Championship in late-August 2015. He finished tied for 10th in a season already shortened by injuries.
Woods underwent multiple back surgeries/procedures and did not play again until the unofficial Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas at the outset of December 2016. He finished 15th in a field of 18 but led everybody with 24 birdies.
At Farmers, Woods shot 76-72 for 4-over. The cut was even.
EUROPEAN TOUR
OMEGA DUBAI DESERT CLASSIC
Site: Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
Course: Emirates GC. Yardage: 7,328. Par: 72.
Purse: $2.65 million.
Television: Thursday-Friday, 1-4 a.m., 5:30-8:30 a.m. (Golf Channel); Saturday-Sunday, 3:30-8 a.m. (Golf Channel).
Defending champion: Danny Willett.
Last week: Jeunghun Wang won the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters.
Notes: Tiger Woods is playing the Dubai Desert Classic for the eighth time. He has won twice, in 2006 and 2008, and has a career scoring average at Emirates Golf Club of 68.71. … Woods last played Dubai in 2014. He tied for 41st, 10 shots behind Stephen Gallacher. …Willett won last year by one shot over Andy Sullivan and Rafa Cabrera Bello. All three played in the Ryder Cup for the first time that year. … Sergio Garcia is making his first European Tour start of the year. He tied for 11th two weeks ago in the Singapore Open, joint sanctioned by the Japan and Asian tours. … Rory McIlroy withdrew because of a rib injury suffered in Abu Dhabi and is not expected to play again until March. … Ernie Els is a three-time winner in Dubai, the most of any player. Els is not in the field this year. … Woods playing in Dubai means 2015 remains the only calendar year as a professional that he did not play outside the United States except for the British Open.
Next week: Maybank Championship in Malaysia.
Online: www.europeantour.com
(The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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