text: Tiger Woods ended a week of speculation and debate over the state of his game by announcing on Friday that he will play next week in the Masters. The 39-year-old played an 18-hole practice round on Tuesday at Augusta National, and Golf Channel said he was seen on the practice range Friday morning at the club. 'I'm playing in the Masters,' Woods said on his website. 'It's obviously very important to me, and I want to be there. 'I've worked a lot on my game, and I'm looking forward to competing. I'm excited to get to Augusta, and I appreciate everyone's support.' Scroll down for video . Woods announced on Friday that he will be playing at the Masters in Augusta next week (above Woods at the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines on February 5) He said: 'I've worked a lot on my game, and I'm looking forward to competing. I'm excited to get to Augusta' Woods, a four-time Masters champion, last competed at the Farmers Insurance Open on February 5 at Torrey Pines when he walked off the course after 11 holes because of tightness in his lower back, and after another shockingly bad display of chipping. That followed a missed cut at the Phoenix Open, where he shot a career-high 82. He will have gone nine weeks without competition when he hits his opening tee shot on Thursday at the Masters, which is not unprecedented for Woods. He went nearly five months without playing when he returned in 2010 from a crisis in his personal life that led to one of the greatest downfalls in sport, and he tied for fourth that year. Scrutiny might be even greater this time around. After two trips to Augusta National this week, Woods announced his return to the competition (above Woods at the Phoenix open on January 30) Woods hits a shot on the fourth hole during the final round of the 2013 Masters Tournament at Augusta National in April 2013 . The last time Woods took an extended break before the Masters, he had won his previous tournament at the Australian Masters. Now, his game has been in disarray over a series of injuries and another change in coaching. Woods has plunged to No. 104 in the world ranking, his lowest spot since a week before his first professional victory in 1996. He last won a tournament in August 2013 at the Bridgestone Invitational, and he has not had a top ten since the end of 2013. Woods missed the Masters last year because of back surgery to alleviate a pinched nerve. Four tournaments into his return, he again dealt with back pain and sat out the final four months of the season to fully recover and get stronger. Woods celebrated making the winning putt on the 18th green during the 2005 Masters Golf Tournament at Augusta National . But when he returned at his Hero World Challenge in December, he tied for last in an 18-man field and chipped so poorly that some analysts said he had the chipping yips. He would either duff them short or blade them over the green. At the Phoenix Open this year during the pro-am, Woods hit a bunker shot that went over the green and into the first row of bleachers. 'He's got to go out and probably exorcise some of those demons,' Paul Azinger, a former PGA champion and ESPN analyst, said Thursday. 'The first little pitch shot he's got to hit — not chip shot, the first little pitch shot he's got to hit — will be microanalyzed, and he knows that. There's a big microscope on that guy. 'I don't think he'd show up unless he feels like he solved that problem.' Woods will be closely watched during the Masters tournament next week, said former PGA champion Paul Azinger (above Phil Mickelson shakes hands with Woods after he won the Masters in 2005) A week after withdrawing in the middle of his round at Torrey Pines, Woods announced that his game and scores were unacceptable and he would not return until he felt he could compete at the highest level. When he skipped the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill, he said he hoped to be ready for the Masters and would continue working. Second-hand reports have ranged from Woods playing well at his home club of The Medalist in South Florida to making five birdies in a round of 74 at Augusta National earlier this week. Next week, he will be playing his first major since turning 39 in December. No player has won more than three major titles beyond his 39th birthday.
target: Four-time Masters champion made the announcement on Friday .
  He said he has worked a lot on his game and is excited to compete .
  Woods last competed on February 5 at the Farmers Insurance Open when he walked off the course because of tightness in his lower back .