Tiger Woods suddenly ready to make comeback

Only weeks after Tiger Woods made his mea culpa in front of millions of television viewers, in which he made it clear it could be next year before he returned to competitive golf, he has announced that actually he's decided he'll make his comeback next month.

Woods will play at the Masters on April 8 - six months after winning his last tournament, the Australian Masters, on November 15. A fortnight after that, Woods's life unravelled after a car crash in his driveway precipitated a series of events that culminated in at least 17 women claiming he had slept with them. Woods's wife Elin Nordegren walked out on him and speculation has surrounded the possibility of a reunion with her - and a return to competitive golf - ever since.

The news of his comeback has been greeted with shock in some quarters - not least because it's a bit like competing in the World Cup after spending six months playing football in the park with jumpers for goalposts. And if Woods thinks it's going to be an easy return, he has only to turn on his TV tomorrow night to see the kind of reception that awaits him at every turn.

Trey Parker and Matt Stone, the makers of the animated sitcom South Park, have added their own take on the Woods affair to the heap of ridicule already festering in the media.

Few details have been released about the new episode, which is called 'Sexual Healing', but the basic premise concerns scientific tests revealing some of the boys on South Park have a sex addiction problem. Woods's cameo comes in a scene in which, as in real life, he confesses his affairs in a televised press conference.

The astonishing way in which his private life and golf career both unravelled makes Woods the perfect victim for South Park, co-creator Matt Stone admitted. "There's a delicacy in talking about [Woods] that we don't have to worry about," he told the Associated Press.

Stone added: "It's such an important issue in America right now - the sex addiction outbreak. We're all really concerned about him and hope he gets better."

'Sexual Healing' is the first episode in South Park's 14th season. It will screen in Britain on UK Comedy Central on Friday March 19. ·