At a Friday press conference at the Ponte Vedra golf course in Florida, Tiger Woods to apologise for repeated marital infidelities. Mr Woods did not give a date for his return to professional golf.But he said that he wood return some time this year.When h
At a Friday press conference at the Ponte Vedra golf course in Florida, Tiger Woods to apologise for repeated marital infidelities.
Mr Woods did not give a date for his return to professional golf.
But he said that he wood return some time this year.
When he did, his behaviour would be "more respectful to the game".
His wife Elin Woods was not present, but his mother Kultida Woods was among those in a small, hand-picked audience.
The disgraced sports star spoke for 15 minutes from a prepared script, which appeared to include cues for when to look at the camera, or glance contritely at the audience.
“As Elin pointed out to me, my real apology to her will not come in the form of words,” he said. “It will come from my behavior over time,” said Mr Woods.
Afterward, he took no questions.
The New York Times described Mr Woods’ performance as “carefully orchestrated” and his words as measured.
One gossip site went further, saying the press conference was “delivered with about as much emotion as a quarterly stock report at a shareholders meeting. Which let's be honest, was entirely what it was.”
A little spike in Tiger's tail
A number of commentators noted the press conference was timed to coincide with the start of the Accenture Match Play Championship, completely diverting the media's attention from the event.
Accenture was the first major sponsor to abandon Mr Woods after his November 27 crash, and the ensuing allegations of multiple affairs.
The deal was worth $US7 million a year to Mr Woods, whom all told drew around $US110 million in sponsorship before his marital contretemps.
Sponsors queue for door
Proctor & Gamble-owned Gilette and the Pepsi-owned Gatorade are also phasing out Tiger Woods sponsorship deals.
Consulting firm Accenture’s campaign associated with the golfer, which carried the tagline “Go on, be a Tiger”, now seems particularly misplaced.
Nike and video game company Electronic Arts have pledged unequivocal support, while AT&T is waivering. Tag Heuer jumped, then came back onboard.
On November 27, Mr Woods crashed his Cadillac SUV into a tree following an argument with his wife. Today, Mr Woods said his wife did not attack him at any point during the incident.
In the days and weeks following the crash, upwards of nine woman came forward claiming to have had affairs with Mr Woods.
The golf star began by attempting to deny each liaison, but ultimately the number of women became too great to yield to anything bar statistical analysis.
