AUGUSTA, Ga. — He looked like the same Tiger Woods, head down as he walked along the first fairway at the Masters, no one suspecting the jangled nerves he felt from taking his golf public for the first time since his private life unraveled.
One fan called out, “Welcome back, Tiger.” Instead of ignoring fans as he has done so often, Woods turned toward the man with a wave and a smile.
“To be out there in front of the people, where I have done some things that are just horrible, and for the fans to really want to see me play golf again . . . I mean, that felt great,” Woods said Monday. “That really did.”
Then came another tense moment — facing the media for the first time since he was exposed for cheating on his wife. He dodged questions with rehearsed answers, refused to go into details about the therapy he sought or the state of his marriage, except to say his wife won’t be at Augusta National this week.
But there was a touch of humility and patience in his voice during a 35-minute news conference. He even tried to call every writer by name.
“I need to be a better man going forward than I was before,” he said. “And just because I’ve gone through treatment doesn’t mean it stops.”
One thing hasn’t changed.
Woods, a four-time champion who hasn’t hit a shot that mattered since Nov. 15, is not at the Masters simply to make amends.
“Going to go out there and try to win this thing,” he said.
It was a solid start in the process of restoring his image.
Woods clearly was intent on mingling more with the fans than he did before the sex scandal. First, he putted a couple of balls to some kids watching alongside the 18th green. Then, a real surprise: He stopped to sign autographs while heading to the practice range.
He had not played to the crowd since winning the Australian Masters in Melbourne, where fans saw him only as golf’s best player with 82 victories and 14 majors and no rival except history.
His world caved in 12 days later with a car accident outside his home that sent him to the hospital with a busted lip that required five stitches, and a shattered image that might take years to repair.
Woods said he would tone down his temper — and his celebrations — on the course.
“I’m actually going to try and obviously not get as hot when I play,” Woods said. “But then again, when I’m not as hot, I’m not going to be as exuberant, either. I can’t play one without the other.”
Woods did not say what kind of treatment he received during 45 days of therapy — “That’s personal, thank you” — but said the toughest part was missing his son Charlie’s first birthday Feb. 8.
“And that hurts — that hurts a lot,” Woods said. “I vowed I would never miss another one after that. I can’t go back to where I was. I want to be a part of my son’s life and my daughter’s life going forward, and I missed his first birthday.”
Even as he spoke, adult film star Joslyn James — one of more than a dozen women who claims to have had affairs with Woods — watched his news conference with attorney Gloria Allred and a room full of reporters in New York.
“I think he’s still a big, fat liar,” James said.
