If Friday’s highly anticipated statement at PGA Tour headquarters was designed to show the world a kinder, gentler Tiger Woods, then the world is still waiting.
To be sure, Woods appeared vulnerable at times during his 13-minute address, in which he discussed, among other things, his numerous infidelities. The overwhelming self-assuredness that has been as much a part of Woods’ persona as major championships and money wasn’t as prevalent as before the fall from grace that began just after Thanksgiving.
“I was unfaithful. I had affairs. I cheated,” Woods said. “What I did was not acceptable.
“I have made you question who I am and how I could have done the things I did.”
Woods’ wife, Elin, did not attend his first public appearance since he crashed his car into a tree outside their Orlando, Fla.-area home three months ago, setting off shocking allegations of extramarital affairs.
“It’s now up to me to make amends, and that starts by never repeating the mistakes I’ve made,” Woods said at the news conference in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. “It’s up to me to start living a life of integrity.”
But the world’s top-ranked golfer also made it clear that whatever his next move would be, it would be made on his terms. As a result, there seems to be as many questions as answers, with public opinion still decidedly mixed.
Break after 45 days of rehab
Lin Wood, an Atlanta-based trial attorney whose clients have included John and Patsy Ramsey, said the event came off as insincere.
“Too scripted and too staged,” Wood said. “He should have made his comments after he had finished his treatment or after resolving his marriage or at a time when he was ready to go back to work playing golf.
“With all of these issues still up in the air, the timing of his comments seems to have been calculated to stir sympathy rather than to provide meaningful information to the public.”
Woods did not announce when he would return to the PGA Tour.
“I don’t rule out it will be this year,” he said.
Woods alternately looked into the camera and at the 40 people in the room, raising his voice only to deny that his wife ever hit him and to demand that the paparazzi leave his family alone. Beyond that, there were stretches when Woods could have been reading from a tough corporate report.
He entered the room alone. When he finished, he stopped for a long embrace with his mother, Kultida, who said she whispered in his ear, “I’m so proud of you. Never think you stand alone. Mom will always be there for you, and I love you.”
The rationale from Woods’ camp for the announcement Friday was that Tiger was taking a break after 45 days of treatment and will return for more therapy, though he did not say what type of counseling.
Some in the golf world felt the announcement was ill-timed, coming while the Match Play championship was underway in Arizona. Accenture is a sponsor for the tournament and was the first of Woods’ major sponsors to drop the golfer.
Others were willing to give him the benefit of the doubt.
“I was moved by how difficult it seemed to be for him. But it’s a big part of the process to go through that difficulty and to face up to what’s happened,” said British Open champion Stewart Cink from the Match Play. “I’ve got a couple of good friends that have gone through the alcohol abuse program with AA, and similar steps are taken in the healing process where you have to make amends to the people you’ve hurt, and you have to start the bridge to the other side. And I think that’s where Tiger is.”
But Woods’ former college teammate and fellow pro Notah Begay, who was present at the announcement, said his friend’s process of changing his behavior “is a little bit harder than making a swing change.”
“It’s tough to get any man in America just to go into marriage counseling, let alone go into a 45-day rehabilitation,” Begay said.
Sponsors watching closely
Woods’ confessional appeared to be the start of his public attempt to rehabilitate not only his marriage but his image, something sponsors are eyeing closely.
The companies that have stuck most closely by Woods — Nike Inc. and Electronic Arts Inc. — reiterated their support Friday. AT&T Inc., along with Accenture, dropped Woods soon after the revelations of infidelity came to light. Other companies, such as Procter & Gamble Co.’s Gillette and Swiss watch maker Tag Heuer, de-emphasized him in their marketing.
Dr. Robert Passikoff, president and founder of Brand Keys Inc., which specializes in determining brand engagement and product loyalty, said Woods is still gold with sponsors.
“We did a number of surveys with regards to British products and brands, but just for fun I threw Tiger Woods in, just to see how they rated the guy,” Passikoff said Friday. “He still came up with enormous emotive value for what he does. I base opinion on the scale of how consumers are acting, and the fact is that every guy wishes he could play golf like Tiger Woods and when Nike puts his name on something, people are going to buy it. A lot of this evaporates the minute he gets out on the first tee.”
But Meg Campbell, an assistant professor of marketing at the University of Colorado’s Leeds School of Business, said things aren’t really that cut and dried.
“There’s definitely going to be a lot of variation; what I would love to see is the data of what people think of it, men and women, cross-tabbed with golf fans versus people who aren’t really golf fans,” Campbell said. “I think a lot of golf fans would say, ‘We just want to see him back out there, we don’t care about his personal life.’
“But I think the more tangential targets, consumers who are aware of Tiger Woods, who admire Tiger Woods, but not avidly watching every PGA tournament, are probably saying this isn’t just about golf, it’s more about him as a person. For them, it’s more about source credibility, expertise and trustworthiness and attractiveness.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Anthony Cotton: 303-954-1292 or acotton@denverpost.com
Reaction to Tiger Woods’ statement Friday:
“I said, ‘I’m so proud of you. Never think you stand alone. Mom will always be there for you and I love you.’ “
Kultida Woods
“I watched it, but I have nothing to say right now.”
Father-in-law Thomas Nordegren, in Sweden
“It’s a bummer, his personal life. He’s trying to deal with it, and I don’t think he knows how to totally express how he feels, and I don’t wanna say come clean about everything, but explain what was going on. He’s trying to pick his words very carefully and apologize. I respect that.”
American gold-medal snowboarder Shaun White
“do we think this is coming from the heart or the paper! come on Tiger! give us some reality here . . . thanks tiger. sweet hugs to your fam, can’t wait to see you back out there!! Good Luck!!”
American silver-medal skier Julia Mancuso on Twitter
“There is anger in some corners, but mainly it is a sense of sadness. He’s an American hero, and he’s had his issues. At the end of the day, he’s a human being. We all make mistakes. We all have made mistakes. And when we’re lucky, we learn from those mistakes and we get to be better people.”
PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem
“Today was a step in the right direction. . . . We know what kind of champion he is on and off the golf course, but this is a big battle he’s fighting right now. He’s going to show to the people he can be a champion off the course.”
Golfer Mark O’Meara
“It’s not about words, it is about actions. It’s all down to actions. I personally think if Tiger wants to be a family man, get out and play some golf and bring the whole family out with him.”
Golfer and TV analyst Nick Faldo
“I thought it was an amazing conference. I thought Tiger was very humble. And, you know what? I think we all love him as a golfer and as a family man. And we want to see what’s best for him.”
Golfer Ben Crane
“What I expected to see today was some humility. What I saw today was arrogance. What I saw was anger. . . . It was basically an infomercial.”
Public-relations executive Rick Cerrone on CNN
Compiled by The Associated Press
