Sports briefs
In golf
Tiger Woods is returning to competition for the first time without the use of a cart since July, announcing Friday he will play at the Genesis Invitational in Los Angeles.
Woods was hopeful of playing next week’s tournament at Riviera, where he is the host of an event that typically had the strongest field of the West Coast swing even before it became elevated with a $20 million purse.
The uncertainty came from a bout with plantar fasciitis as he was preparing to play in December. That kept him from playing in his Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas. He played a made-for-TV exhibition over 12 holes and the PNC Championship with his son. Both times he was allowed to ride in a cart.
Carts are not allowed on the PGA Tour – Casey Martin used one under the Americans with Disabilities Act – and Woods has said he was not interested in using one to play at the highest level.
In the NFL
Former Dallas Cowboys wide receiver and Pro Football Hall of Famer Michael Irvin has filed a defamation lawsuit seeking $100 million in damages, claiming he was falsely accused of misconduct by a female employee at a Phoenix hotel.
Irvin, 56, was pulled off the remainder of NFL Network’s Super Bowl week coverage following a complaint about his behavior in a hotel on Sunday. He has worked at the network since 2009.
The lawsuit against a “Jane Doe” and Marriott International, Inc., was filed Thursday in Collin County, Texas.
Marriott International declined to comment.