PALM HARBOR, FLA. ? For Tiger Woods, this figures to be a Masters like no other.

Woods said Tuesday he will end more than four months of seclusion and play at Augusta National in three weeks, shielded by the most secure environment in golf as he competes for the first time since a sex scandal shattered his image.

“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.”

The Masters begins April 8.

No other major championship attracts such a large television audience, and that’s under normal circumstances.

Already the most popular figure in golf with his 82 worldwide victories and 14 majors — four of them at the Masters — Woods returns as a disgraced star who will be under the greatest scrutiny of his career.

“We’re all looking forward to having him back. We want him playing,” Jim Furyk said. “I’m sure we’re also looking forward to everything being business as usual. And it’s going to take awhile. We know that.”