Woods to return to golf at Masters

The disgraced champion issued a statement today that said Augusta "is where I need to be" after a lengthy absence.

Tiger Woods announced today that he will return to golf at the Masters tournament, which is due to begin on April 5. "The Masters is where I won my first major and I view this tournament with great respect," Woods said. "After a long and necessary time away from the game, I feel like I'm ready to start my season at Augusta." After two months of therapy, Woods, 34, said his treatment is ongoing, and acknowledged that he has "a lot of work to do" on his personal life, but that he felt ready to return to the sport.

"When I finally got into a position to think about competitive golf again, it became apparent to me that the Masters would be the earliest I could play." Over the course of his treatment, Woods missed his own tournament, the Chevron World Challenge, as well as Joe Lewis's Tavistock Cup and the Arnold Palmer Invitational. During a conference on February 19, he apologised for his extramarital affairs but did not give a date for his return to golf. * The Associated Press

Updated: March 16, 2010, 12:00 AM