PGA Tour stop returns to Washington

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Florida, Feb 28 (Reuters) The PGA Tour will return to Washington, DC this year as part of a new long-term agreement, officials said.

The new tournament, which replaces the International on the PGA calendar, will be held July 5-8 with the Tiger Woods Foundation serving as the event's host organisation.

''After an extensive search, we are very excited about our partnership with the Tiger Woods Foundation to bring a PGA Tour event back to our nation's capital over the 4th of July holiday celebration,'' PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem said in a statement, yesterday.

World number one Woods is linked to the event through his charitable entity but his participation this year is uncertain as his wife Elin expects their first child this summer.

The Washington area has hosted a PGA event since 1980 but it was scrapped following last year's tournament in Potomac after management consulting firm Booz Allen withdrew its sponsorship.

A lack of corporate sponsors was also a key reason the International, held outside Denver, lost its spot on the PGA calendar.

Finchem and Woods will announce further details of the tournament, including the site, title sponsor and total purse at a news conference March 7.

REUTERS SBA RN0418