Phil Mickelson will play at Bridgestown in Akron

Phil Mickelson will also play in the PGA Championship the following week.

AKRON (AP) — Phil Mickelson will return to the PGA Tour at the Bridgestone Invitational next week, his first tournament since he tied for second at the U.S. Open.

Mickelson has been away for nearly two months because his wife, Amy, has breast cancer. She had surgery July 1. At about that time, Mickelson learned his mother has breast cancer and is being treated.

Mickelson’s decision was announced by tournament organizers. Bridgestone is the third of the four World Golf Championship events of 2009.

Mickelson is also planning to play in the PGA Championship, the season’s fourth and final major, which starts Aug. 13 at Hazeltine, a community southwest of Minneapolis.

Mickelson won the WGC’s CA Championship in March and has competed in all 10 previous Bridgestone Invitationals, with five top-10s. His best finish came in 1999 when he tied for second.

A three-time major champion, Mickelson skipped the British Open, ending the longest active streak of majors at 61. He had played in every major dating to the 1994 U.S. Open.

Tiger Woods, a six-time winner at Firestone, is expected to confirm this week that he’ll join what will likely be a strong Bridgestone field.

Nathan Green earned an automatic berth with his victory Monday in the Canadian Open. Five other players also gained a spot by solidifying their positions in the top 50 in the world rankings: England’s Ross Fisher and Luke Donald, Australia’s Robert Allenby and Mathew Goggin and Japan’s Shingo Katayama.

Stewart Cink, who won Bridgestone in 2004, captured the British Open two weeks ago at Turnberry and is also entered.

“Well, if he’s playing, things are going better at home,” Woods said at the Buick Open in Michigan. “If things were not going well, then I don’t think he’d play. So it’s a positive sign to see him out here playing.”

Jim Furyk said he was happy to have Mickelson back.

“Hopefully his wife is doing well, and I think the fact he’s coming out is a good sign that she is,” Furyk said after Wednesday’s practice round at the Buick.

In a statement on his Web site, Mickelson said he will also play in the Barclays Golf Tournament two weeks after the PGA Championship, “and if things continue to go well I’ll be able to play more.”

Mickelson has struggled at Hazeltine as a pro, finishing in a tie for 34th at the 2002 PGA Championship. When the course hosted the 1991 U.S. Open, Mickelson — then an amateur — tied for 55th.

Playing Hazeltine on Wednesday, Mickelson looked relaxed as he walked the course with two playing partners and a small group of bystanders. He hit a long drive off the 15th tee. After another strong drive on the par-4 16th, Mickelson’s approach to the green landed 6 feet from the hole.

While waiting for the other players to catch up, Mickelson held a putter in front of him and bounced a golf ball. The putter betrayed him a few moments later when his birdie putt lipped out, and he settled for par.

All the other holes were closed to media. Mickelson did not take questions.

Mickelson has played in 12 tournaments this year and won two, the Northern Trust Open and the World Golf Championships-CA Championship. His last event was a second-place finish at the U.S. Open in June.