Tiger Woods Says He Will Return To the 2010 Masters Golf Tournament

Tiger Woods announced today that he will return to golf after taking 4 months off and play at the Masters tournament in Augusta, Georgia, on April 8, 2010, the same course where he took his first big victory as a golf pro in 1997.

In a statement Woods says:

“The Masters is where I won my first major and I view this tournament with great respect.  After a long and necessary time away from the game, I feel like I’m ready to start my season at Augusta.  The major championships have always been a special focus in my career and, as a professional, I think Augusta is where I need to be, even though it’s been a while since I last played.”

The 34-year-old has won the Masters four times overall He hasn’t played in a competitive event since the JBWere Masters in Australia in mid-November due to of all the drama that emerged later that month, when  had a fight with wife Elin Nordegren, 30 and then crashed his car outside his Florida home.  Later revealing Woods had been cheating on Elin with a number of women.

photo: Bauer Griffin