Tiger's tale hits home for golf world
Tiger Woods may have irked some with the timing of his television
interviews, but his humbling self-analysis drew praise from PGA rival
Jim Furyk and NBA star Magic Johnson.
Woods, who will end a nearly five-month break next month at the
Masters, spoke to ESPN and The Golf Channel on Sunday about his
infidelity in interviews that were broadcast just as Furyk was winning
the PGA Transitions Championship.
"We are a little bit disappointed that they chose to air that story
at the conclusion of a very exciting tournament," said Transitions
managing director David Cole.
"We invest a lot of money (seven million dollars) as a title
sponsor."
But Furyk understood that the latest chapter in the soap opera that
Woods's life has become would trump his personal triumph.
Judgements
"I wish him well," he added. "I think it's good for him to get his
face out there and have people see him. They are going to make their
judgments, but I think it allows him to move on and get focused for the
next thing."
Woods spoke of multiple affairs and his own break from the core
values that helped mold him into a 14-time major champion.
"I tried to stop and I couldn't stop and it was just, it was
horrific," he said.
"It was really tough to look at what I had become. That's pretty
brutal. I saw a person (in the mirror) I never thought I would ever
become."
The story hit home all too well for Johnson, who retired in 1991
after revealing that he had contracted the HIV virus, making brief
comebacks for the 1992 Olympics and in the NBA.
Johnson told the Philadelphia Daily News that he was pleased Woods
would return to golf.
Sponsors
"I'm glad he's back. I think he should be back," Johnson said. "You
have to apologize first to your wife and kids. He did that, I'm sure.
Then you apologize to the sponsors and fans. Then you move on.
"You can't live in the past. You've got to get out there and do what
you do. He's a golfer, the world's best, so get out there."
Woods kept quiet when asked about many details of his numerous
affairs, the November 27 auto crash that launched the scandal and his
current relationship with wife Elin.
But The Golf Channel reported that former White House press secretary
Ari Fleischer was no longer part of the golf star's media advisory team.
Fleischer "feels like he's becoming too big a part of the story,"
said The Golf Channel's Kelly Tilghman. "He felt like that it was time
for Tiger to have complete due and his name doesn't need to keep coming
up." Woods's name came up on the website of porn star Joslyn James, who
posted emails and text messages purportedly from Woods that suggested
she and Woods were texting each other during last year's PGA Buick Open
near Flint, Michigan.
The Flint Journal reported that the messages were on the days of the
first and second rounds of the tournament that Woods struggled through
and eventually won, and indicated the sender had very little sleep.
Woods said July 30 was "probably one of the worst putting days I've
ever had" but on the same day, James claims, Woods sent a message to set
up a rendezvous. ORLANDO, Florida, AFP |