ESPN Golf

In what might be considered a mild surprise, Tiger Woods on Thursday committed to play in next week's Buick Open in Michigan, setting himself up to potentially play three straight weeks on the PGA Tour.

Woods has played the event at Warwick Hills Golf Club in Grand Blanc, Mich., eight times, winning it twice and never finishing worse than 11th.

But because it precedes two events he is expected to play -- the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational (Aug. 6-9), followed immediately by the year's final major, the PGA Championship -- Woods was expected to skip it this year.

"We are very fortunate and honored that the world's No. 1-ranked player has decided to play the Buick Open," Larry Peck, national promotions manager for Buick-GMC said. "There is no doubt that Tiger brings an elevated excitement level to Warwick Hills whenever he plays, and we are delighted to share the news with Michigan fans."

Woods is coming off a missed cut at the British Open, his first in more than three years.

Since returning from knee surgery in February, Woods has played in 10 events, with three victories and eight top-10 finishes. He has played back-to-back events just once, finishing fourth at the Quail Hollow Championship, then eighth the following week at The Players Championship.

The last time Woods played in three straight events was during the 2007 FedEx Cup playoffs, when he finished second at the Deutsche Bank Championship, followed by victories at the BMW Championship and Tour Championship.

Bob Harig covers golf for ESPN.com.