Woods alongside Clarke on return

“I’m good to go,” said the former world No 1, who has slumped to 28th in the rankings during an absence for knee and Achilles tendon injuries suffered at the Masters in April.

“The docs gave me the clearance, so here I am. I started practising a couple of weeks ago, which was nice, and I was close to playing last week, but again the doctors advised me that maybe I should take another week.

“I started pushing it pretty hard (in training) and I feel good now.”

His return comes in the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational where he has been paired with Open champion Darren Clarke. Given that Woods texted Clarke with some tips as he tried to win his first major, the possibility of pairing the duo was too good to resist.

World No 1 Luke Donald partners Masters champion Charl Schwartzel and world No 2 Lee Westwood, who a year ago had to pull out of the tournament with a leg injury, is with Ryder Cup team-mate Graeme McDowell.

US Open champion Rory McIlroy plays with defending champion Hunter Mahan in his first start in America since his eight-shot success in Washington in June.

Yorkshire’s Simon Dyson – winner of last weekend’s Irish Open – will go out with Bo Van Pelt.