RANCHO MIRAGE, California, (Reuters) – The Tiger  Woods circus rolls into Georgia amid much hype and speculation  for next week’s U.S. Masters where the disgraced world number  one will make his highly anticipated return to competitive golf.

The 14-times major champion has selected the best possible  environment at Augusta National for his PGA Tour comeback but no  one, Woods included, knows how he will fare in his first  tournament back after a break of almost five months.

Although he enjoys a huge comfort level at a venue where he  has triumphed four times, he has not competed since winning the  Australian Masters on Nov. 15 following startling revelations  that he had a string of extra-marital affairs.

While his golfing abilities and mental strength are the best  of his era and arguably of all time, his emotional state of mind  is likely to be an unknown factor when Woods tees off in  Thursday’s opening round.

South African Ernie Els, who has won his last two events on  the PGA Tour, expects the game’s leading player to cope with the  distractions and intense media scrutiny at the Masters.