Tiger Woods to Take Leave from Golf
Updated at 11:38 p.m. Eastern time
Tiger Woods said Friday he is taking an indefinite leave from golf to try to save his marriage, the biggest fallout yet from two shocking weeks filled with allegations of rampant extramarital affairs.
"I need to focus my attention on being a better husband, father, and person," Woods said on his Web site.
Woods and his wife, Elin, have been married five years and have a 2-year-old daughter and a 10-month-old son.
The announcement came two weeks after Woods crashed his SUV into a tree outside his Florida home, setting in motion a stunning downfall for the world's No. 1 player who for 13 years rarely made news off the golf course. One woman who said she had a 31-month affair with Woods shared a voice mail that she said Woods left her two nights before his Nov. 27 accident.
"I am deeply aware of the disappointment and hurt that my infidelity has caused to so many people, most of all my wife and children," Woods said. "I want to say again to everyone that I am profoundly sorry and that I ask forgiveness. It may not be possible to repair the damage I've done, but I want to do my best to try."
Woods has not been seen in public since the accident.
Additional Coverage of the Tiger Woods Scandal:
Alleged Mistresses Have Troubled Pasts
Tiger Texts Show Weakness for Woman
Self-Proclaimed Woods Flame: Sorry, Elin
Tiger Woods' Woes Mount
Gatorade Drops Tiger Woods Drink
Tiger's Mother-in-Law Home from Hospital
Woods gave no indication when he might return in what could be a pivotal year as he pursues the record 18 major championships won by Jack Nicklaus. Woods, who did not win a major this year, has 14.
The Masters, where Woods has won four times, is April 8-11. The U.S. Open is at Pebble Beach, where Woods won by a record 15 strokes in 2000, and the British Open returns to St. Andrews, where he has won twice by a combined 13 shots.
It will be the second straight year that a PGA Tour season begins without its star player. A year ago, Woods was recovering from reconstructive knee surgery that kept him out a total of eight months.
This is different.
"We knew before he was coming back," said Steve Stricker, one of Woods' favorite players on tour. "Now, we're not sure when he's coming back. But this sounds good. I hope everything works out for him."
The PGA Tour supported the decision.
"His priorities are where they need to be, and we will continue to respect and honor his family's request for privacy," PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem said in a statement, the tour's first public comment since Woods mentioned his "personal failings" and "transgressions" in a Dec. 2 statement. "We look forward to Tiger's return to the PGA Tour when he determines the time is right for him."
Woods' agent, Mark Steinberg, told The Associated Press that it was the right decision for Woods and his family.
"The entirety of someone's life is more important than just a professional career," Steinberg said in an e-mail to the AP. "What matters most is a young family that is trying to cope with difficult life issues in a secluded and caring way. Whenever Tiger may return to the game should be on the family's terms alone."
Craig Parry, who played a practice round with Woods in Australia last month, said Woods brought the problems on himself.
"What he did was totally wrong," Parry said at the Australian PGA Championship. "And he's got no one to blame except himself. You can look at other people, but he's the one who's got to look in the mirror."
Woods was out of action from July 2008 until the end of February this year, and television ratings dropped 50 percent. The tour is trying to renew a half-dozen title sponsors, and it is to begin negotiations on the next television contract later next year.
As for Woods' corporate endorsements, all have stood by him for now.
"Tiger has been part of Nike for more than a decade," Nike said in a statement Friday. "He is the best golfer in the world and one of the greatest athletes of his era. We look forward to his return to golf. He and his family have Nike's full support."
Sponsor AT&T took a different tone with a statement it issued Friday.
"We support Tiger's decision and our thoughts will be with him and his family," the statement says. "We are presently evaluating our ongoing relationship with him."
Meanwhile, Accenture no longer has an image of Woods on the home page of its Web site. Earlier this week, Woods standing amid cactus plants studying his next shot was among three rotating pictures on the home page.
Steinberg said it would be "premature and inappropriate" to talk about Woods' specific business relationships.
"Suffice it to say, we have had thoughtful conversations and his sponsors have been open to a solution-oriented dialogue," Steinberg said. "Of course, each sponsor has unique considerations and ultimately the decisions they make we would fully understand and accept."
Earlier this year, Woods became the world's first athlete to surpass $1 billion in career earnings, according to Forbes magazine. His sponsors include Nike, Gillette, AT&T, Gatorade and Tag Heuer.
More on Woods:
911 Caller from Woods' Home was Panicked
Is Tiger Woods a Sex Addict?
Meds Involved in Tiger Woods Accident?
Elin Nordegren Moves Out
Police Sought Blood Test for Woods
Photos: Tiger Woods
Photos: Sports Sex Scandals
Photos: Elin Nordegren
Tiger Woods: I Let My Family Down
Parnevik: I Thought Tiger was a Better Guy
Tiger's Alleged Voicemail Message
Woods last played a tournament Nov. 15 when he won the Australian Masters for his 82nd victory around the world.
Stricker, who went undefeated as Woods' partner at the Presidents Cup, said his leave was the right decision.
"I think it's great that he's going to put his family first and work things out," Stricker said from Naples, Fla., where he is playing the Shark Shootout. "Golf will always be there. He wants to make sure his marriage is right and everything is good on the homefront. We'll sure miss him on tour until he gets things taken care of."
Woods also indicated he would step away from the work of the Tiger Woods Foundation, which has served some 10 million children.
"There are millions of young people who have truly changed their lives through the foundation's programs, and millions more still counting on us for help," Woods said in a separate statement through his foundation. "I am committed to them and to the foundation's excellent work, and I know my staff will continue these efforts during my absence."
Below is a transcript of the statement Woods released Friday night:
Woods: I am deeply aware of the disappointment and hurt that my infidelity has caused to so many people, most of all my wife and children. I want to say again to everyone that I am profoundly sorry and that I ask forgiveness. It may not be possible to repair the damage I've done, but I want to do my best to try.
I would like to ask everyone, including my fans, the good people at my foundation, business partners, the PGA Tour, and my fellow competitors, for their understanding. What's most important now is that my family has the time, privacy, and safe haven we will need for personal healing.
After much soul searching, I have decided to take an indefinite break from professional golf. I need to focus my attention on being a better husband, father, and person.
Again, I ask for privacy for my family and I am especially grateful for all those who have offered compassion and concern during this difficult period.
AP Tiger Woods said Friday he is taking an indefinite leave from golf to try to save his marriage, the biggest fallout yet from two shocking weeks filled with allegations of rampant extramarital affairs.
"I need to focus my attention on being a better husband, father, and person," Woods said on his Web site.
Woods and his wife, Elin, have been married five years and have a 2-year-old daughter and a 10-month-old son.
The announcement came two weeks after Woods crashed his SUV into a tree outside his Florida home, setting in motion a stunning downfall for the world's No. 1 player who for 13 years rarely made news off the golf course. One woman who said she had a 31-month affair with Woods shared a voice mail that she said Woods left her two nights before his Nov. 27 accident.
"I am deeply aware of the disappointment and hurt that my infidelity has caused to so many people, most of all my wife and children," Woods said. "I want to say again to everyone that I am profoundly sorry and that I ask forgiveness. It may not be possible to repair the damage I've done, but I want to do my best to try."
Woods has not been seen in public since the accident.
Additional Coverage of the Tiger Woods Scandal:
Alleged Mistresses Have Troubled Pasts
Tiger Texts Show Weakness for Woman
Self-Proclaimed Woods Flame: Sorry, Elin
Tiger Woods' Woes Mount
Gatorade Drops Tiger Woods Drink
Tiger's Mother-in-Law Home from Hospital
Woods gave no indication when he might return in what could be a pivotal year as he pursues the record 18 major championships won by Jack Nicklaus. Woods, who did not win a major this year, has 14.
The Masters, where Woods has won four times, is April 8-11. The U.S. Open is at Pebble Beach, where Woods won by a record 15 strokes in 2000, and the British Open returns to St. Andrews, where he has won twice by a combined 13 shots.
It will be the second straight year that a PGA Tour season begins without its star player. A year ago, Woods was recovering from reconstructive knee surgery that kept him out a total of eight months.
This is different.
"We knew before he was coming back," said Steve Stricker, one of Woods' favorite players on tour. "Now, we're not sure when he's coming back. But this sounds good. I hope everything works out for him."
The PGA Tour supported the decision.
"His priorities are where they need to be, and we will continue to respect and honor his family's request for privacy," PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem said in a statement, the tour's first public comment since Woods mentioned his "personal failings" and "transgressions" in a Dec. 2 statement. "We look forward to Tiger's return to the PGA Tour when he determines the time is right for him."
Woods' agent, Mark Steinberg, told The Associated Press that it was the right decision for Woods and his family.
"The entirety of someone's life is more important than just a professional career," Steinberg said in an e-mail to the AP. "What matters most is a young family that is trying to cope with difficult life issues in a secluded and caring way. Whenever Tiger may return to the game should be on the family's terms alone."
Craig Parry, who played a practice round with Woods in Australia last month, said Woods brought the problems on himself.
"What he did was totally wrong," Parry said at the Australian PGA Championship. "And he's got no one to blame except himself. You can look at other people, but he's the one who's got to look in the mirror."
Woods was out of action from July 2008 until the end of February this year, and television ratings dropped 50 percent. The tour is trying to renew a half-dozen title sponsors, and it is to begin negotiations on the next television contract later next year.
As for Woods' corporate endorsements, all have stood by him for now.
"Tiger has been part of Nike for more than a decade," Nike said in a statement Friday. "He is the best golfer in the world and one of the greatest athletes of his era. We look forward to his return to golf. He and his family have Nike's full support."
Sponsor AT&T took a different tone with a statement it issued Friday.
"We support Tiger's decision and our thoughts will be with him and his family," the statement says. "We are presently evaluating our ongoing relationship with him."
Meanwhile, Accenture no longer has an image of Woods on the home page of its Web site. Earlier this week, Woods standing amid cactus plants studying his next shot was among three rotating pictures on the home page.
Steinberg said it would be "premature and inappropriate" to talk about Woods' specific business relationships.
"Suffice it to say, we have had thoughtful conversations and his sponsors have been open to a solution-oriented dialogue," Steinberg said. "Of course, each sponsor has unique considerations and ultimately the decisions they make we would fully understand and accept."
Earlier this year, Woods became the world's first athlete to surpass $1 billion in career earnings, according to Forbes magazine. His sponsors include Nike, Gillette, AT&T, Gatorade and Tag Heuer.
More on Woods:
911 Caller from Woods' Home was Panicked
Is Tiger Woods a Sex Addict?
Meds Involved in Tiger Woods Accident?
Elin Nordegren Moves Out
Police Sought Blood Test for Woods
Photos: Tiger Woods
Photos: Sports Sex Scandals
Photos: Elin Nordegren
Tiger Woods: I Let My Family Down
Parnevik: I Thought Tiger was a Better Guy
Tiger's Alleged Voicemail Message
Woods last played a tournament Nov. 15 when he won the Australian Masters for his 82nd victory around the world.
Stricker, who went undefeated as Woods' partner at the Presidents Cup, said his leave was the right decision.
"I think it's great that he's going to put his family first and work things out," Stricker said from Naples, Fla., where he is playing the Shark Shootout. "Golf will always be there. He wants to make sure his marriage is right and everything is good on the homefront. We'll sure miss him on tour until he gets things taken care of."
Woods also indicated he would step away from the work of the Tiger Woods Foundation, which has served some 10 million children.
"There are millions of young people who have truly changed their lives through the foundation's programs, and millions more still counting on us for help," Woods said in a separate statement through his foundation. "I am committed to them and to the foundation's excellent work, and I know my staff will continue these efforts during my absence."
Below is a transcript of the statement Woods released Friday night:
Woods: I am deeply aware of the disappointment and hurt that my infidelity has caused to so many people, most of all my wife and children. I want to say again to everyone that I am profoundly sorry and that I ask forgiveness. It may not be possible to repair the damage I've done, but I want to do my best to try.
I would like to ask everyone, including my fans, the good people at my foundation, business partners, the PGA Tour, and my fellow competitors, for their understanding. What's most important now is that my family has the time, privacy, and safe haven we will need for personal healing.
After much soul searching, I have decided to take an indefinite break from professional golf. I need to focus my attention on being a better husband, father, and person.
Again, I ask for privacy for my family and I am especially grateful for all those who have offered compassion and concern during this difficult period.
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I make my living off the evening news
Just give me something, something I can use
People love it when you lose, they love dirty laundry
Well, I could've been an actor, but I wound up here
I just have to look good, I don't have to be clear
Come and whisper in my ear, give us dirty laundry
Kick 'em when they're up, kick 'em when they're down
Kick 'em when they're up, kick 'em when they're down
Kick 'em when they're up, kick 'em when they're down
Kick 'em when they're up, kick 'em all around
We got the bubbleheaded bleach-blonde, comes on at 5
She can tell you about the plane crash with a gleam in her eye
It's interesting when people die, give us dirty laundry
Can we film the operation? Is the head dead yet?
You know the boys in the newsroom got a running bet
Get the widow on the set, we need dirty laundry
You don't really need to find out what's going on
You don't really want to know just how far it's gone
Just leave well enough alone, keep your dirty laundry
Kick 'em when they're up, kick 'em when they're down
Kick 'em when they're up, kick 'em when they're down
Kick 'em when they're up, kick 'em when they're down
Kick 'em when they're stiff, kick 'em all around
Dirty little secrets, dirty little lies
We got our dirty little fingers in everybody's pie
Love to cut you down to size, we love dirty laundry
We can do the innuendo, we can dance and sing
When it's said and done, we haven't told you a thing
We all know that crap is king, give us dirty laundry
None of anyones private life and business is any of our business (and don't use the excuse "public figure" excuse) How would any of us like our failings posted across the media?
Tiger is a great golfer, lets leave it at that. His other failings are his.
I wish the man good luck with his life whatever direction it leads him.
I wish the muckrakers and its followers the worst of luck and hope it's enjoyed when the spotlight is turned in the other direction.
Look at it this way. Starting out in High School, about 1/3 of the guys and girls are real polished gems, about 1/3 of the guys and girls have real personality problems that it's going to take them years to work out, and about 1/3 are diamonds in the rough.
Well, about 4-5 years later, most of those polished gems are going to be married and off the market. Then, the middle 1/3 diamonds in the rough will have pulled it together and a lot of them will be disappearing. Then about 4-5 years later in your late, late 20's, most of those people will be gone, and about half the really messed up people will have pulled it together and be hooking up.
Well on about your mid 30's then what do you have to pick from? Well you got the never married screwed up ones who will never pull it together, and you got the few diamonds who haven't gotten pulled, and you got a collection of divorcees. And out of the divorcees, half of them are the screwed up ones who caused the divorce, and the other half are the responsible ones who end up saddled with the kids. So your choice is to either hook up with a screwed up person who may or may not have a child support financial burden and try to fix them, or get lucky enough to find one of the rare never-married diamonds, or hook up with a diamond who already has kids, who your going to be a parent to their kids whether you want to or not. The only way out of that is to look for someone 10 years younger and most of those people don't have anything in common with you, and would rather hook up with someone their own age - and why not, they don't want to be old in their 70's and have you kick the bucket then be lonely for another decade waiting for their time to come. And even if you find one, you never really know if they wanted to hook up with you because of true love, or because since you had a 10 year jump on getting established you have more money than they do.
Yes it is very true that the name of the game in life isn't to go get married young and pop out some kids. The problem though is that if you don't get married young, then you pretty much have to come to terms with the fact that your likely never going to have kids, and if you do, your gonna die before you have any grandchildren.