Tiger Woods will play in the Frys.com Open to kickoff new PGA Tour season

Tiger Woods will make his 2015-16 PGA Tour debut when the season does, committing Friday to the Frys.com Open in California.

Woods played in this event in 2011 as a favor to then-Presidents Cup captain Fred Couples, giving Couples ample incentive to add him to the team with a wild-card pick. Once again, Woods is playing in the Frys.com Open, now at Silverado Golf Club in Napa, as a favor of sorts.

Woods, along with several other players including Rory McIlroy, was given special dispensation by the PGA Tour in 2013 to play the European Tour’s Turkish Airlines Open — something called a Conflicting Event Release. In exchange for getting the OK by the PGA Tour to head overseas for a hefty appearance fee, Woods, as well the others, agreed to play in the Frys.com Open at some point. Woods intended to play in the event to kick off this season, but Woods suffered a back injury that kept him from completing his end of the quid pro quo last year.

The 14-time major champion didn’t qualify for the FedEx Cup playoffs, coming up short in a must-win situation at the Wyndham Championship as part of a last-ditch effort to make the PGA Tour postseason. In exchange, he earned a five-week vacation from the PGA Tour.

McIlroy, who will regain the No. 1 ranking on Monday, has also committed to the Frys.com Open.

Ryan Ballengee is a Yahoo Sports contributor. Find him on Facebook and Twitter.

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