Woods to make his return at the Masters

PALM HARBOR, Fla. (AP) -- Tiger Woods hasn't played in a golf tournament since mid-November, and he's still favored to win next month's Masters.

Woods announced on Tuesday that he'll make his return from his self-imposed layoff due to a sex scandal at Augusta National. Woods noted that the Masters was where he won his first major tournament. He'll be seeking a fifth Masters title.

It will take place more than four months after the world's No. 1 golfer's life was swept up in a sex scandal.

Augusta National is a safe pick to make a comeback.

Club officials keep a tight rein on players, fans and the media and should be able to keep the story of Woods' return from dissolving into theater .

In his last tournament appearance, Woods won the Australian Masters on Nov. 15, his 82nd victory worldwide.

London bookmaker William Hill has installed Woods as the 4-1 favorite. Phil Mickelson is second at 6-1, followed by Padraig Harrington at 16-1.

Huge television audiences expected

The president of CBS Sports is boldly predicting that Tiger Woods' return to the PGA Tour at the Masters next month will be one of the "biggest media spectacles in recent memory." Sean McManus says it'll rival the inauguration of President Barack Obama for viewership.

The highest television rating ever for the Masters -- or the final round of any major golf tournament, for that matter -- came in 1997, when a 21-year-old Tiger Woods won the tournament for the first time in dominant fashion. More than 14 percent of all the homes with televisions in the United States tuned in.

CBS will carry the final two rounds of the Masters, with ESPN airing the first two rounds.