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SPORTS Friday 26 april 2019
Woods says he’ll play new PGA Tour event in Japan

By DOUG FERGUSON make up the PGA Tour’s val into four-team playoff.
AP Golf Writer Asia Swing, following the South Africa wound up win-
Masters champion Tiger CJ Cup in South Korea and ning the World Cup.
Woods is adding to his in- the HSBC Champions in Woods won for the 81st
ternational travels at the Shanghai. The Japan tour- time in his PGA Tour career
end of this year, announc- nament, co-sanctioned two weeks ago at the Mas-
ing Wednesday night that with the Japan Golf Tour, is ters, winning his fifth green
he will compete in Japan a 78-man field with a $9.75 jacket and 15th major. He
for the first time in 13 years million purse. had overcome four back
at the new Zozo Champi- Woods last played in Ja- surgeries since the spring of
onship. Woods said on Twit- pan in 2006 at the Dunlop 2014, the most recent one
ter that he was excited to Phoenix, where he lost in to fuse his lower back in
play the new tournament a playoff to Padraig Har- April 2017.
and described Japan as rington. Woods won the Woods had cut back on his
“one of my favorite coun- Dunlop Phoenix the two international travel while
tries.” previous years, beating coping with back prob-
Woods is U.S. captain for Ryoken Kawagishi by nine lems.
the Presidents Cup that shots in 2004, and beating Except for his Hero World
will be held Dec. 12-15 at Kaname Yokoo in a playoff Challenge in the Baha-
Royal Melbourne in Austra- in 2005.He also hit one of mas — a short flight from
lia, giving the 43-year-old his best wedge shots in Ja- his home in Florida — the
Woods at least two trips pan in the 2001 World Cup, Dubai Desert Classic in
halfway around the world. when he hit a pitch into the 2017 is the only regular tour
The Zozo Championship bank of the green and into event he has played over-
will be Oct. 24-27 at Accor- the cup for an eagle that seas since the first of his four Tiger Woods reacts as he wins the Masters golf tournament
Sunday, April 14, 2019, in Augusta, Ga.
dia Golf Chiba Narashino got Woods and David Du- back surgeries.q Associated Press
Country Club, about 50
miles east of Tokyo. It is part
of three tournaments that

Weather halts

first-round play
at PGA Tour’s

Zurich Classic

AVONDALE, La. (AP) —
Nearly three inches of
heavy rain and lightning
forced a stoppage in play
lasting more than seven
hours Thursday during the
first round of the Zurich
Classic team event.
The first players to tee off
were on the course for a
little more than 2 1/2 hours
before the horn sounded
to suspend play.
The tandem of Joel Dah-
men and Brandon Harkins
left the course with the
lead at 6 under through
nine holes at the par-
72 TPC Louisiana course
southwest of New Orleans.
One group played as
many as 10 holes before
play was stopped. Play re-
sumed in the evening with
just more than two hours of
daylight left.
As the only team event on
the PGA Tour, the Zurich
Classic field is comprised of
80 two-player teams that
play a best-ball format in
the first and third rounds
and alternate shot in the
second and final rounds.q