World number one Tiger Woods has confirmed that he will defend his title at the WGC Bridgestone Invitational next month at the Firestone Country Club in Akron, Ohio.

Woods has won the championship in four of the last five years and seven times in total.  He also holds the championship record of 21 under, and so will see the event as yet another chance to win his first tournament of the season.

Still, despite having an equally impressive record at St Andrews, Woods finished in a disappointing tie for 23^rd at the British Open earlier this month, a result that will put even more pressure on him to perform at Firestone as the media spotlight hots up heading into a busy end to the season.

With the last major of the season, the USPGA Championship, taking place just one week after the WGC Bridgestone and the USA hoping to defend their Ryder Cup title at Celtic Manor in early October, the tournament is Woods' last chance to build momentum towards the season finale.

It is yet to be confirmed that Woods will make the trip to Wales for the Ryder Cup; however, with the European team currently looking superior to the USA on paper, team USA captain Corey Pavin will be keen to convince Woods to commit to the American cause.

Tiger currently sits 7^th on the Ryder Cup points table that offers places on the team to the top eight golfers and so will be assured of a place on the squad with good performances at the WGC and the USPGA.

Although he would also be guaranteed one of the four wildcard entries the American selection process provides should he require one, Pavin will have more options to consider when constructing his team if Woods were to qualify on merit.

However, it will ultimately be Tiger's form that Pavin and the American public will be most concerned with.

And a good performance at the WGC Bridgestone Invitational would be the first step towards having the real number one golfer in the world ready to represent his country in the sport's most prestigious team competition.