Woods committed to playing in BMW Championship in Lemont

Though the final field of 70 won't be determined until Monday, the one golfer most golf fans want to know about has committed to playing in next week's BMW Championship at Cog Hill Golf & Country Club in Lemont.

That would be Tiger Woods, the world's No. 1 player and the FedExCup points leader.

Woods is a four-time winner of the Western Golf Association's annual championship and took home the trophy in 2007, the last time the event was contested at Cog Hill and the first year of the BMW Championship.

Woods previously won the event in 1997, 1999 and 2003 when it was known as the Western Open. In addition to his four previous WGA wins, Woods has four other top-10 finishes - including runner-up finishes in 2005 and 2006 - in 12 career starts in the event.

"It goes without saying that having the best player in the world attend your event is incredible," said Vince Pellegrino, vice president of tournaments for the Western Golf Association. "As Chicago golf fans, we're lucky to have him be such a good friend of the WGA and the tournament.

"There's nobody better. Tiger has had some outstanding performances at Cog Hill in the past, and it'll be great for our fans to have the opportunity to watch him compete here again."

The BMW Championship - the third event in the PGA Tour Playoffs - will be contested on Dubsdread, Cog Hill's championship course, where Woods will join 69 other players in competition for a $1.35 million winner's share of the championship's $7.5 million purse.