Tiger Woods: I felt I deserved to enjoy all the temptations. I was wrong

February 20, 2010

A downcast and sometimes angry Tiger Woods broke his three-month silence yesterday with a rambling apology to friends, fans and his absent wife.

Sighing heavily and sniffing back tears, the worlds leading golfer and first billion-dollar sportsman read a repetitive 14-minute statement to a small, invited audience during a week-long break from his sex addiction therapy.

I felt that I had worked hard my entire life and deserved to enjoy all the temptations around me. I felt I was entitled. Thanks to money and fame, I didnt have to go far to find them, he confessed. I was wrong. I was foolish. I dont get to play by different rules.

Woodss beloved mother Kultida sat in the front row at the PGA headquarters on the TPC Sawgrass course on the Florida coast, and he choked back tears as he hugged her afterwards.

His estranged wife, the Swedish supermodel Elin Nordegren, the mother of his two children, was nowhere to be seen. I understand the press wants to ask me for the details and the times I was unfaithful. I understand people want to know if Elin and I will remain together . . . These are issues between a husband and a wife, he said.

Elin and I have started the process of discussing the damage caused by my behaviour, he added. As Elin pointed out to me, my real apology to her will not come in the form of words; it will come from my behaviour over time. We have a lot to discuss.

Woods, wearing a black jacket and open-necked blue shirt, was once a clean-cut role model for his sporting prowess. But his approval rating has plunged from a record 88 per cent to only 40 per cent, according to an ABC News poll.

The golf star looked glum and showed flashes of anger as he apologised over and over again for his embarrassingly public sexual escapades with more than a dozen other women.

Apart from three statements posted on his website, yesterday was the first time that he had addressed the scandal in person since he crashed his car into a hydrant outside his house on Thanksgiving night in the early hours of November 27.

At times his remarks seemed aimed at mollifying Ms Nordegren, who has stopped wearing her wedding ring and is said to be negotiating a costly divorce.

Elin has shown enormous grace and poise throughout this ordeal. Elin deserves praise not blame, he said. The issue involved here was my repeated irresponsible behaviour. I was unfaithful. I had affairs. I cheated.

He defended Ms Nordegrens actions on the night of the accident, denying that she was attacking him when she smashed the windows of the car in what she says was an effort to rescue him.

Woods, who was also not wearing his wedding ring, confirmed for the first time that he had been an inpatient at a sex therapy clinic for 45 days. He said he planned to return to the clinic today.

The golfing superstar allowed only three news agency reporters and one pool television camera to cover the event in the Mediterranean Revival clubhouse. The Golf Writers Association of America was offered space for three reporters but voted not to accept a stinging rebuke to Woods, who has won more majors than anyone but Jack Nicklaus. The rest of the media were confined to a conference centre a mile away, where dozens of television correspondents reported from the car park bristling with satellite trucks.

Two strippers who aspired to join Woodss list of girlfriends turned up at the media camp with a sign proclaiming: I want to be No 16.

The golfers statement commanded media attention worthy of a leading world event. Networks broke into their programming; the Golf Channel began its coverage 30 minutes early with the equivalent of a pre-game show; the PGA streamed the event live on its website.

Woods arrived at TPC Sawgrass by helicopter. Usually, when he plays at the course he stays in nearby St Augustine on his aptly named yacht Privacy.

Golf fans voiced some distaste at Woodss carefully stage-managed return to the spotlight. Its the American way, said Peter Cotton, a British doctor from Kingstone, Herefordshire, who now lives in America and played golf at the Sawgrass course as Woods spoke. In Britain, you resign or kill yourself. Over here, you have counselling and then you get on your knees. I wonder if hes going to get religion now? In fact, Woods did announce that he was re-embracing the Buddhist religion of his youth.

Marion Weir, one of his American golf partners, predicted that it would take a long time for Woods to claw his way back into the publics affection. I think he has fell sic from grace in terms of being a role model. He has a long road to rebuild his image, he said.