Tiger Woods plans to play in December

Tiger Woods said Tuesday he will play in his Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas the first week of December, which would be his first competition in more than 15 months if he follows through with it.

Woods left himself open to doubt by entering the Safeway Open last month, only to pull out three days later, saying his game was not ready.

“I am excited to make my return at the Hero World Challenge at Albany and play in this terrific tournament,” he said in a news release that announced the 18-man field for the unofficial tournament that awards world ranking points but is not part of any tour.

Woods is the tournament host of a holiday event that began in 1999. He is a five-time winner, all of those victories coming at Sherwood Country Club in Thousand Oaks, California, before the tournament moved to Isleworth in Florida and then to the Bahamas.

Woods, now at No. 831 in the world ranking, last played in the Wyndham Championship in August 2015 when he tied for 10th. He had two back surgeries over the next few months and has said he would not return until fully healthy.

He initially said in early September that he planned to play the Safeway Open and Turkish Airlines Open. Woods withdrew on the Monday before the Safeway Open, saying his health was good and his body felt strong but that “my game is vulnerable and not where it needed to be.”

He also pulled out of Turkey.