VARIOUS FILE: GOLF - Tiger Woods due to make first public statement since sex scandal broke

Record ID: 679680

  • Title: VARIOUS FILE: GOLF - Tiger Woods due to make first public statement since sex scandal broke
  • Date: 18th February 2010
  • Summary: FARMINGDALE, NEW YORK, USA (JUNE 15, 2009) (REUTERS) WOODS HITTING BALL FROM BUNKER WOODS HITTING TEE SHOT
  • Embargoed: 5th March 2010 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Topics: Sports
  • Reuters ID: LVA8KGE4R93EDDRY8CE03QSL956I
  • Story Text: Tiger Woods, the superstar golfer who took an indefinite break from the game in December after admitting marital infidelity, will make a public statement on Friday (February 19) to discuss his playing future.
    The American world number one has been in hiding since the tawdry revelations about his personal life erupted after a minor car accident outside his Florida home in November, a stunning fall from grace for one of the most recognisable figures in sport.
    Woods will address a small gathering of reporters in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, at 11 a.m. EST (1600 GMT) on Friday, his manager said.
    "Tiger plans to discuss his past and his future and he plans to apologize for his behavior," Mark Steinberg said in an e-mail to Reuters.
    "While Tiger feels that what happened is fundamentally a matter between he and his wife, he also recognizes that he has hurt and let down a lot of other people who were close to him.
    "He also let down his fans. He wants to begin the process of making amends and that's what he's going to discuss."
    Woods, the greatest player of his generation and arguably of all time, as well as a huge draw for sponsors, became engulfed in a media frenzy following the bizarre pre-dawn car crash on November 27.
    With his squeaky-clean image torn asunder by a series of allegations over his private life, he reportedly got treatment for sex addiction in Mississippi.
    Woods, 34, has since returned to his Orlando home where he and his Swedish wife, Elin, are believed to be living apart.
    The most marketable athlete in sport, Woods has given no timetable for his likely return to competition.
    Many pundits have predicted he will return to the circuit for the March 11-14 WGC-CA Championship in Miami, Florida.
    His previous perfectionist image was a magnet for lucrative sports sponsorships and endorsements, and according to Forbes magazine, he was the first athlete to earn $1 billion, making him one of the world's wealthiest sports figures.
    Woods has been far and away the top draw on the PGA Tour. He is chasing Jack Nicklaus' record for victories in major tournaments and the unofficial title of best golfer ever. He has won 71 times on the tour in a spectacular career that includes 14 major wins.
    As the scandal over his private life unraveled, more and more U.S. and British tabloid newspapers and media websites published comments from and photos of a parade of between eight to 12 women, including cocktail waitresses and porn stars, who claimed relationships with Woods.
    The media scrutiny prompted Woods to seek and obtain a British court order banning publication in Britain of any photos or video showing him nude or having sex.
    A letter from the lawyers accompanying the injunction contains a statement that "this Order is not to be taken as an admission that any such photographs exist."
    Factbox on Tiger Woods, who on Friday said he would take an "indefinite break" from golf after admitting to infidelity in his marriage.
    MAKING HIS NAME * Born in Cypress, California on Dec. 30, 1975.
    * A child prodigy, he won three consecutive U.S. junior titles and three successive U.S. amateur championships before turning professional in late 1996.
    * Ended that year with PGA Tour victories at the Las Vegas Invitational and Walt Disney Classic.
    EARLY MAJOR IMPACT * Became the youngest Masters winner with a tournament record aggregate of 18-under-par 270 at Augusta National in 1997. His victory margin of 12 shots was the biggest in the tournament's history.
    * After a lean spell in 1998, when he revamped his swing with coach Butch Harmon, Woods won eight titles in a golden run on the 1999 PGA tour, including his second major at the PGA Championship where he held off a charging Sergio Garcia.
    * In 2000, Woods produced one of the most successful seasons in golfing history. Romped to victory by a record 15 strokes in the U.S. Open, coasted home by eight shots in the British Open and claimed his second PGA Championship.
    * Became the fifth and youngest player to win a career grand slam of all four majors. Ended the year with nine titles on the PGA Tour, having completed his sixth in a row at the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am in February.
    * Woods won his second Masters crown in 2001 to become the first player to hold all four professional major titles at the same time.
    LOSES NUMBER ONE RANKING * Over the next four years, Woods piled up four more major victories after embarking on the second revamp of his swing since turning professional.
    * He broke Greg Norman's record for most weeks as world number one with a combined tally of 332 but his five-year reign at the top finally ended in September 2004 when Fijian Vijay Singh took over.
    GLOBAL DOMINANCE * In 2005, Woods won his fourth Masters title, a second British Open and reclaimed the world number one ranking in June, which he has held ever since.
    * Suffered an emotional 2006, having to deal with the illness and death in May of his father Earl before winning the last two majors of the year, the British Open and the PGA Championship. Ended that season with 11 titles worldwide, including six in a row on the PGA Tour.
    * Clinched his fourth PGA Championship at Southern Hills Country Club in 2007 and finished second at the 2008 Masters before undergoing knee surgery two days later.
    KNEE PAIN * In his first tournament back after an eight-week break, he defied stabbing knee pain and a double stress fracture of his left tibia to win his 14th major title with a playoff victory over fellow American Rocco Mediate in the 2008 U.S. Open at Torrey Pines.
    * Woods then shut down his 2008 campaign to have reconstructive knee surgery.
    COMPETITIVE RETURN * Returned to competitive golf at the WGC-Match Play Championship in Arizona in February.
    * Missed the cut in a major for the second time as a professional at the British Open and lost for the first time while leading a major into the final round at the U.S. PGA Championship when he was overtaken by South Korea's Yang Yong-eun.
    * Still won six PGA Tour titles, was unbeaten for the U.S. at the President's Cup, and won the year-ending Fed-Ex Cup and the Australian Masters.
    CAR CRASH * Was taken to hospital after he crashed his car into a fire hydrant and tree in the early hours of Nov. 27. Wife Elin Nordegren was said to have smashed the car's back window with a golf club to get him out of the car.
    * Issued with a ticket for the crash, though U.S. media began reporting he and Nordegren had been arguing prior to the crash.
    * On Dec. 1, he withdraws from the Chevron World Challenge, a tournament he hosts to benefit his charitable foundation, citing injuries from the crash as media speculation begins to circulate about his personal life.
    * Admits on Dec. 2 that he "had let his family down" after reports of extra-marital affairs with several women begin to emerge.
    * Issues statement on his website on Dec. 11 that he had committed infidelity and was taking "indefinite break" from golf.
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