Tiger Woods will headline the PGA Tour’s first official event in Japan later this year.
Woods tweeted on Wednesday night that he’s “excited to play in the inaugural ZOZO Championship in October, and return to Japan, one of my favorite countries.”
I’m excited to play in the inaugural ZOZO Championship in October, and return to Japan, one of my favorite countries. It’s going to be a fun fall. https://t.co/vaFO4DEv1r
— Tiger Woods (@TigerWoods) April 25, 2019
This year’s ZOZO Championship will be the first of a six-year deal announced in November of last year to bring the Tour to Japan every fall. The inaugural event is Oct. 24-27 at Narashino Country Club, just outside of Tokyo, and will feature a $9.75 million purse.
The ZOZO Championship will take the place of the CIMB Classic in Malaysia on the Tour schedule and will join the C.J. Cup and WGC-HSBC Championships to round out the three-week Asia Swing. Woods last played in Japan in 2006, when he lost in a playoff to Padraig Harrington in the Dunlop Phoenix.
Woods’ overseas travels won’t be limited to Japan, though. He’s also U.S. captain for the Presidents Cup at Royal Melbourne in Australia on Dec. 12-15. There was also a report from the Sports Business Daily last month that said Woods, along with his GOLFTV partnership, was looking into more head-to-head matches focused around the 15-time major champion. Discovery President and CEO David Zaslav said one was already planned — for Tokyo.
Woods hasn’t played since he won the Masters two weeks ago. It’s unclear yet if he plans to play before the next major, the PGA Championship at Bethpage Black, on May 16-19.
