Tiger Woods of the U.S. reacts to his approach shot at the ninth hole during the first round of the Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio June 3, 2010. [Xinhua/Reuters Photo]

American golfer Tiger Woods on Wednesday announced that he will return to Melbourne later this year to play in the Australian Masters.

The Herald Sun newspaper reported that Woods, the world No. 1 golfer, will defend his Australian Masters title at the state Victoria Golf Club in November.

"I am pleased to be able to return to Melbourne to defend the JBWere Masters," Woods told the newspaper.

"The Australian galleries made last year's event a great experience for all the players and I look forward to playing again."

The visit has been announced as Woods battles to overcome revelations he had multiple extramarital affairs.

One of his alleged mistresses, American woman Rachel Uchitel, had stayed at Melbourne's Crown Towers Hotel at the same time Woods stayed there during the tournament.

In 2009, more than 106,000 people attended the Masters over its four-day duration, with estimates the coup of attracting Woods to Melbourne pumped an extra 34 million dollars (28 million U.S. dollars) into the local economy.

Victorian taxpayers will have to pay half the cost of Woods' three million dollars (2.47 million U.S. dollars) appearance fee.

However, Victorian Tourism Minister Tim Holding said Woods' appearance last year has "smashed all records and I expect the interest in Tiger returning to Melbourne will be huge".

The Australian Masters, currently known as the JBWere Masters for sponsorship reasons, is an annual golf tournament on the PGA Tour of Australia.

Related

• Woods finishes worst 19th at Memorial, wins fans' hearts
• Woods confirms to attend Memorial tourney
• Woods adds British Open to his schedule
• Woods could be pain free next week, says medical expert
• Haney resigns as Woods' swing coach

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