Woods to defend title at Arnold Palmer Invitational

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In one of his more spirited celebrations, Tiger Woods threw his hat across the green after sinking a putt to win at Bay Hill in '08.

Tiger Woods will make his third start of the 2009 season at next week's Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard.

Woods made the announcement on his official Web site. The field for the Arnold Palmer Invitational will be set at 5 p.m. ET on Friday.

"I've had good success there," Woods said on his site. "We all love to support Arnold's tournament -- he helped put professional golf on the map. Plus, I get to sleep in my own bed."

Woods is the defending champion and a five-time winner at Bay Hill Club and Lodge, which is just a short distance from his home in the Orlando, Fla., area.

Since returning from an eight-month layoff following reconstructive knee surgery after his win at last year's U.S. Open, Woods has played two World Golf Championships events -- last month's Accenture Match Play Championship, where he lost in the second round to Tim Clark; and the CA Championship two weeks ago at Doral, where he tied for ninth after shooting 11 under for the week, eight strokes behind winner Phil Mickelson.

Woods said he is pleased with the progress of his game, and that he made significant strides at Doral.

"I got better each and every day -- my ball-striking, my feel," Woods said. "I would have to say that I'm surprised that I got the feel for hitting shots so quickly. I'm very happy with the way I played -- I didn't say the way I finished."

Last year at Bay Hill, Woods won by sinking a 25-foot putt on the 18th hole Sunday to beat Bart Bryant by one stroke.