Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images

By Joel Beall
Tiger Woods’ back nine struggles at Carnoustie cost him the claret jug, and—for a short window of time—seemed to cost him a chance at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational. However, a computing error was discovered, which bumped the 14-time major winner to No. 50 in the world rankings, thus earning an invite to Firestone.

On Thursday, Woods and his team officially committed to the tournament’s final stop in Northeast Ohio, which begins next week.

The Firestone confines have been friendly to Woods throughout his career. The 42-year-old has eight wins at the tournament, along with a runner-up finish and a total of 12 top-10 finishes in 15 starts. Alas, next week marks Tiger’s last chance to add to the trophy case from the Akron event, as the championship is moving to Memphis in 2019.

Aside from a potential ninth victory at the Invitational, Woods will be looking to improve his Ryder Cup standing at Firestone’s farewell. The 14-time major winner’s T-6 at Carnoustie vaulted him to 20th in the latest points revision, but with eight automatic bids awarded after the PGA Championship, Woods needs a win in Ohio and a strong performance at Bellerive to earn one of those selections.

The WGC-Bridgestone Invitational begins on August 2. Hideki Matsuyama is the defending champion.