Tiger Woods is to take an “indefinite break” from professional golf, he announced late last night, capping a tumultuous fortnight.
The troubled golfer said he was taking a “hiatus” from the sport so that he could “focus ... on being a better husband, father, and person”.
In a statement on his personal website, Woods, 33, said that he was profoundly sorry for the disappointment and hurt that he had caused his family. “It may not be possible to repair the damage I’ve done but I want to do my best to try,” he said.
The father of two continued: “After much soul-searching, I have decided to take an indefinite break from professional golf.” Woods has not been seen in public since his car accident in the early hours of Friday, November 27. The crash, outside his Florida mansion, was said to have come after he and his 29-year-old Swedish wife, Elin Nordegren, had a furious row about an alleged affair with Rachel Uchitel, 34, a Manhattan nightclub hostess.
Neighbours had reported seeing Ms Nordegren standing by Woods’s crashed SUV with a golf club in her hand. The golfer, who was found bleeding and semi-conscious, was later charged with careless driving, which carries a $164 (£98) fine.
It also emerged that the world number one was investigated for driving while unfit after his wife told a Florida state trooper that he had been drinking before his car crash and had been prescribed addictive drugs.
The news unleashed a media firestorm and led to a deluge of reports that the golfer had numerous affairs with young women.
Among the 13 women to have emerged with claims of extramarital affairs with the sportsman were Jaimee Grubbs, 24, a Las Vegas cocktail waitress, Jamie Jungers, 26, a lingerie model, Mindy Lawton, 33, an Orlando pancake waitress, and Holly Sampson, 36, a porn actress.
While the storm raged around him, Woods remained silent and out of sight. In a statement released last week, he referred to “personal sins” and “transgressions” and apologised for letting his family down. In last night’s statement he used the word “infidelity” for the first time.
The golfer was last due to play golf on December 1 at the Chevron World Challenge title, but cancelled after the crash. He is the winner of 14 major golf events.
Woods’s once squeaky clean image has taken a battering and adverts featuring the golfer have vanished from American prime-time television amid blanket coverage of the lurid claims of his infidelities.
Gatorade, the energy drinks company, cancelled a contract with Woods as the financial ramifications of the scandal started to emerge. Woods signed a five-year deal with Gatorade in 2007 for an estimated $100 million (£61.7 million), which means that he stands to lose about $40 million.
Yesterday, he won a court order banning British media from reporting certain new details about his personal life. The legal action, by London-based lawyers, is the first serious attempt by Woods to try to limit the increasing damage to his reputation.
There has been speculation that one of the women who claims to have slept with the golfer was preparing to sell compromising photographs. Woods’s lawyers have cast doubt on the existence and validity of any images.
There were also suggestions yesterday that Woods’s problems may be part of a serious psychological addiction that only expert treatment can bring under control.
“One might suggest that Tiger Woods shows signs of being a sex addict,” said Judy Kuriansky, a psychologist and sex expert at Columbia University, New York. “From the outside it would seem he fits — and once you put a medical diagnosis on it, you have an excuse.”
Earlier this week Woods’s mother-in-law collapsed at his Florida mansion and spent half a day in hospital. Barbro Holmberg had arrived in the US from her native Sweden to be with her daughter.
Source:The times
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