Woods and Fred Couples were off in the second group just after 8 a.m. on a pristine day at Augusta National. The two played down the first fairway before most fans even got into position to see the world's best player.

Woods also practiced the day before, getting a big hug from an old friend, along with some encouraging words for his return to competition.

"This is the place where you belong," Mark O'Meara said he told Woods as they walked down the 10th fairway on Sunday. "This is what you love to do." First comes a chore that Woods never enjoyed even in the best of times.

Woods faces the media at 2 p.m. Monday (1800 GMT) for the first time since the public learned of his sordid private life. His press conference at the Masters is getting so much attention that Augusta National has asked media outlets for only one reporter to make sure every organization has a chance to fill the 207 seats in the press center.

Ever since he ran over a fire hydrant and into a tree in the early hours of Nov. 27 - that infamous car accident that sparked incredible revelations of rampant affairs - Woods has kept public comments to a minimum.

He issued two statements on his Web site about his infidelity. He spoke for 13 1/2 minutes to a small group of family and friends on Feb. 19 at US PGA Tour headquarters. He announced he was returning to golf. And he gave a pair of five-minute interviews to TV networks.

This press conference, however, comes with no restrictions.

He won't be reading a script into a camera. He is facing a room full of reporters, who are not limited by time.

It was Augusta National that requested Woods speak on Monday to avoid stealing the show from so many other Masters contenders who are to have press conferences on Tuesday.

A Masters official made it clear that Woods isn't running this show, however long it lasts.

"There's always going to be questions," O'Meara said.

"But he's made a statement about what he's done. He's admitted his guilt, and now it's time for him to make things right. He'll figure it out. He's pretty tough." He has been linked to more than a dozen women, although he has confessed to cheating only on his wife. "I have made you question who I am and how I could have done the things I did," Woods said in his statement on Feb. 19.

As for his golf? Stay tuned.

"He hit the ball pretty good today," O'Meara said.

"He's been practicing the last three or four weeks. He's good to go. It's going to be a different thing for him. But if anyone can handle it, he can."