An outpouring of support from peers, sponsors and officials greeted the announcement by Tiger Woods that his self-imposed exile from golf wo­uld end at the Masters in April — a first step in a return to normalcy on the competitive side of his life.

Woods, whose last tournament appearance was the Australian Masters in November, revealed his plans Tuesday on his web site.

“The Masters is where I won my first major, and I view this tournament with great respect,” Woods said in a statement. “After a long and necessary time away from the game, I feel like I’m ready to start my season at Augusta.

“I have undergone almost two months of inpatient the­rapy, and I am continuing my treatment. Although I’m re­turning to co­mpetition, I still have a lot of work to do in my personal life.”

Woods has been rarely seen in public since crashing his car into a fire hydrant and a tree in front of his home early on the morning of November 27, 2009. The accident set off a string of revelations about marital infidelities, after which Woods entered a rehabilitation ce­nter that spe­cializes in sex addiction.

Woods, the world’s No. 1-ranked golfer, spoke ab­out his problems publicly in a 15-minute appearance on February 19 and apologised to those he hurt. Since then, there have been several Wo­ods sightings, most of them on the driving range at Isleworth Country Club in Windermere, Fla., the gated co­m­munity outside Orlando where Woods lives.

Woods was often accompanied by his wife, Elin, when he practiced, and he has also worked with his swing coach, Hank Haney. There had been reports th­at Woods planned to return to competition next week at the Tavistock Cup in prepa­ration for the Arn­old Pal­mer Invitational at Bay Hill in Orlando. Woods ex­pla­ined in his sta­tement Tue­sday that next week wo­uld have been too early to return. The Masters begins April 8.

“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,” Wo­ods said.

Palmer, who said he spoke with Woods on Tuesday, told the Golf Channel that he understood why Wo­ods would not return at Bay Hill, where he won last year.

“He had some zip in his voice,” Palmer said. “He sounded just fine. He kn­ows what he wants to do with his life and the way he’s going to handle it, and I guess we’re going to give him that respect.”