Tiger Woods has announced he will defend his Australian Masters title in November, a year after drawing huge crowds to his last event ahead of dramatic revelations over a series of extra-marital affairs. Woods will join Sergio Garcia, Camilo Villegas and 2006 US Open champion Geoff Ogilvy for the November 11-14 tournament, where last year the world number one recorded a two-shot win over Australia's Greg Chalmers. 'I am pleased to be able to return to Melbourne to defend the JBWere Masters,' Woods said on his website (www.tigerwoods.com). 'The Australian galleries made last year's event a great experience for all the players and I look forward to playing at The Victoria Golf Club in November.' Last year, thousands of fans swamped Melbourne's Kingston Heath, choking traffic and crowding every vantage point, with some spectators climbing trees to get a glimpse of their idol. It turned out to be Woods' last tournament until the US Masters in April, as a mysterious November 27 car accident led to revelations of marital infidelity that prompted him to take a five-month break from the game. He has struggled to reproduce his best form since his return, missing the cut at the PGA Tour's Quail Hollow Championship, withdrawing from the Players Championship with neck pain and finishing tied 19th at the Memorial Tournament. Meanwhile Victoria's state authorities defended the move to again use taxpayers' money -- about half of his three million dollar (2.5 million US) fee, according to reports -- to hire Woods despite his lurid sex scandal. 'We're not the morality police here in Victoria,' events minister Tim Holding told public broadcaster ABC. 'We don't cross-examine sporting superstars about their personal lives... I just think that's a very slippery slope,' he said. 'Everyone's entitled to a second chance and I think Tiger Woods is no exception.' Woods' appearance last year was estimated to have delivered a 34 million Australian dollar boost to the local economy in ticket sales, hotel and restaurant bookings and taxi and retail receipts. 