GOLF

WOODS TO PLAY IN HIS INAUGURAL TOURNAMENT

Tiger Woods’s new PGA Tour event is already off to a great start.

Two weeks after becoming a father, Woods will return to competition at the AT&T National. The tournament got another boost Wednesday when three-time major champion Phil Mickelson said his recovery from a wrist injury is ahead of schedule and he will join the field at Congressional Country Club on July 5-8.

Woods will announce today or Friday that he’s playing, a tournament official said yesterday. The official spoke on condition of anonymity pending the official announcement.

BASEBALL

HOWARD BECOMES FASTEST PLAYER TO HIT 100 HOMERS

Ryan Howard hit his 100th career homer in his 325th game last night, becoming the fastest player to reach that total, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

Howard’s three-run shot off Cincinnati’s Aaron Harang gave the Phillies a 3-0 lead in the fifth inning. The 505-foot drive was the longest in the four-year history of Citizens Bank Park. It cleared the tall, brick batter’s eye, going nine feet farther than Howard’s shot over the same wall against Florida’s Sergio Mitre last April.

The reigning NL MVP had 58 homers last season and swatted 22 while winning the Rookie of the Year award in 2005.

MACPHAIL: IT’S TREMBLEY’S JOB FOR NOW

Dave Trembley will get at least another month to prove he’s the right man to manage the Baltimore Orioles.

Andy MacPhail, who took over as president of baseball operations last week, said yesterday that he won’t resume interviewing candidates for the managerial job “until at least the trading deadline,” which is July 31. Trembley was made the interim manager on June 18 after the Orioles fired Sam Perlozzo. Before the end of the week the manager’s job was offered to Joe Girardi, who turned it down.

SOCCER

FIFA EASES ALTITUDE RESTRICTION

FIFA revised its ban on matches at high altitude, easing the restrictions to only apply to World Cup qualifiers above 9,840 feet rather than 8,200 feet.

The change, brought on by protests from South American countries, means international matches can still be played in the capitals of Colombia and Ecuador, but rules out Bolivia’s capital, La Paz. While the initial decision applied to all international games, the new rule will be limited to World Cup qualifiers.

OLYMPICS

ISF CAMPAIGNS FOR RETURN OF SOFTBALL TO OLYMPICS

The International Softball Federation announced a “Back Softball” campaign Wednesday to push for the sport to be reinstated for the 2016 Olympic Games.

“We’ve got great athletes. Young athletes in all parts of the world are playing the sport, and we want to make sure that people are aware that it is a sport that is very competitive and it’s a worldwide sport,” ISF President Don Porter said by phone from the Netherlands, where the announcement was made. “We want to be back in the Olympic program.”