After five months, Tiger Woods held his first press conference today at Augusta ahead of the Masters. "His press conference is getting so much attention that Augusta National has asked media outlets for only one reporter to make sure every organization has a chance to fill the 207 seats in the press center," writes the AP's Doug Ferguson.
Woods has spoken little since the news of his infidelities became public, delivering a brief statement in February and giving five minute sit-downs to ESPN and the Golf Channel in March. CBS declined an interview at the time and CBS News and Sports President Sean McManus has said, "This year Tiger's story is a major factor in the golf tournament and we are going to cover it fully."
In his opening statement just after 2pmET, Woods said, "I apologize to all of [the other golfers] for having to endure what they've had to endure the past few months."
Update: Woods said he was "surprised" by the treatment he received in the "mainstream media," but added, "I think also the times have changed as well. With 24-hour news...you're looking for any kind of news to get out there."
The conference is being carried on the above networks as well as CNN International and ESPN News (ESPN and ESPN2 have opening day baseball).
Update: The conference lasted 36 minutes and Woods fielded a wide variety of questions from different outlets.
From his days as a child golf prodigy, Tiger Woods has thrived in the spotlight. But can any athlete be mentally prepared for the circus that will unfold at this year's Masters? After taking a four-month leave of absence from golf to deal with the fallout from his shocking infidelity scandal, Woods will make his highly anticipated return to the sport this week, at the Masters tournament in Augusta, Ga. On Monday he will hold his second postscandal press conference — the first in which he will actually answer questions from the assembled press — and then will tee off his opening round on Thursday. In an interview with SI.com last month, Sean McManus, president of both CBS Sports and CBS News, called Woods' return to golf "the biggest media event other than the Obama Inauguration in the past 10 or 15 years." A hyperbolic reach from the leader of the network set to broadcast the final two rounds of the Masters this weekend? Sure. Still, the cameras will be glaring, the tabloids screaming, and one of Woods' alleged mistresses has indicated she plans to dance at a strip club in nearby Atlanta. This will be a Masters unlike any other. (See Tiger Woods in the 2010 TIME 100 poll.)
In the midst of such madness, what can Woods do to stay focused on his golf game? Before we give out psychological advice to the embattled golf superstar, let us be the first to admit that he probably doesn't need it. Until he proves otherwise, Woods is still the mentally toughest athlete on the planet. "He wrote the book that we're all using," says Gio Valiante, author of Fearless Golf: Conquering the Mental Game, who is currently acting as golf shrink for Camilo Villegas, one of the best young players on the PGA Tour. "He's got this belief system that is perfectly constructed for adversity."
Valiante has played golf with Woods on about a half-dozen occasions. "More so than any other person I've ever studied, he's the best straight learner I've ever seen," Valiante gushes. "He makes mistakes, but then you watch him go about his business and he doesn't make that mistake twice." (Of course, you could argue that the sheer number of Woods' alleged mistresses, over 15 by some counts, proves that he's quite capable of repeat offending.)
The key, says Valiante, is Woods' constant quest to be better. As TIME wrote in a 2000 cover story about Woods: "What is most remarkable about Woods is his restless drive for what the Japanese call kaizen, or continuous improvement. Toyota engineers will push a perfectly good assembly line until it breaks down. Then they'll find and fix the flaw and push the system again. That's kaizen. That's Tiger." These words were written after Woods' first reconstruction of his golf swing, a revamping he undertook after winning the 1997 Masters by a record 12 strokes. Despite his continued dominance, he has made major changes to his swing at least two more times in the past decade. "He has taken the greatest game in history, broken it and put together something better," says Valiante. (See a brief history of the Tiger Woods scandal.)
Valiante believes Woods, who has undergone therapy, will reconstruct his life along similar lines. His game will surely follow suit. Valiante points to a relatively overlooked quote from Woods' March 21 interview with ESPN. "The strength that I feel now, I've never felt this type of strength," Woods told the network. To a psychologist like Valiante, those words are particularly telling. "Think about that," he says. "Woods is finding strength through redemption and humility. It's like when A-Rod admitted he used steroids. A massive burden was lifted off his shoulders, and he could go out and play."
Despite Woods' obvious resolve, a little advice from the golf shrinks couldn't hurt, especially since he's entering a pressure cooker with the potential to break even the best athletes. For example, if Woods were on his couch, Bob Rotella, a noted golf psychologist and author of Your 15th Club: The Inner Secret to Great Golf, would encourage the golfer to truly relish this uncomfortable comeback. "Love the challenge," Rotella says. "This is a totally different challenge than you're used to. Go out and test yourself. Go love it." Rotella also recommends that Woods pal around with his fellow players in the clubhouse. "After you've had a problem, you want to see if your buddies still like you," Rotella says.
Patrick Cohn, a sports psychologist based in Orlando, Fla., and author of Peak Performance Golf: How Good Golfers Become Great Ones, says that Woods can block out distractions by not trying to block out distractions. Instead of telling himself to tune out the occasional heckler, he should just visualize placing the ball in the fairway. "Once you focus on the right stuff," Cohn says, "distractions fall by the wayside." (See the top 10 scandals of 2009.)
When Woods was a teenager, he worked with a hypnotist to help place his mind in the proverbial zone. And given his recent revelations that he's reconnected with Buddhism, it's fair to assume that Woods is doing a fair amount of quiet introspection. Do more of it, say the psychologists. With practice, you can enter an altered, hypnotic state on the golf course, though not to the point where you're barking like a dog on command. "You are aware of what's going on," says Ken Grossman, a Sacramento, Calif.–based hypnotherapist who has worked with many athletes. "You're not out in left field."
For example, Jennifer Scott, a golf hypnotherapist from Phoenix, suggests staring at some object on the course — perhaps a leaf on a fairway tree — and taking a deep breath while waiting to take a shot. "Your eyes are very powerful," she says. "If you're darting your eyes back and forth, you lose focus." Summon the subconscious and give yourself a mantra. "Think peace, harmony, relax, relax," Scott says. "The golfers I teach love those words." Denise Silbert, a hypnosis expert from La Jolla, Calif., recommends selecting a physical trigger, like holding a golf ball while walking down the fairway, which will signal your brain to slow down. "As I hold the golf ball, I feel a calm energy," Silbert says. "I let go of the conscious riffraff, I'm reprogramming the unconscious mind. The verbiage in my mind is affirming: 'Fairways of power, greens of solace.'" Are you in a trance yet? For Woods, Scott suggests a less hippie-sounding mental chant, perhaps, "I'm the greatest player in the world, see each shot as it lands."
Tiger Woods will speak publicly on Friday for the first time since the scandal broke over his private life.
The shamed golfer, who was pictured for the first time since his November car accidntn today on a run with a friend near his Florida home, will appear in public at a press conference at 4pm.
His agent Mark Steinberg said: 'Tiger plans to discuss his past and his future, and he plans to apologise for his behaviour. Tiger Woods, pictured for the first time since his accident, jogs with an unidentified friend near his home
Tiger Woods, pictured for the first time since his accident, jogs with an unidentified friend near his home
Tiger Woods Tiger Woods
Tiger, who is planning a press conference, looked deep in thought as he ran
'Tiger feels as though it's time to make amends and to publicly do that.'
It is likely Woods will address his future in golf after announcing he would be taking indefinite leave from the sport to focus on his private life.
After allegations linking him to several women were first published in December, the notoriously-private Woods released a statement, but declined to go into details. Tiger and Elin during happier times
Tiger and Elin during happier times
Tiger, who has two children with wife Elin Nordegren, said at the time: 'I have let my family down and I regret those transgressions with all of my heart.
'I have not been true to my values and the behavior my family deserves. I am not without faults and I am far short of perfect.
'I am dealing with my behavior and personal failings behind closed doors with my family. Those feelings should be shared by us alone.'
Since then, Tiger and Elin have been living separately in Orlando, Florida after the golfer returned from a Mississippi sex addiction clinic. Tiger has moved back into the family home in Isleworth estate, below, while Elin lives in a rented house just one mile away in a separate gated estate
Tiger has moved back into the family home in Isleworth estate, below, while Elin lives in a rented house just one mile away in a separate gated estate
Despite reportedly calling off plans to divorce, Elin is said to still be unsure whether she can trust the sportsman, and decided living in separate abodes is the best option.
The Swedish model was photographed today carrying two coffees into her former family home, where Tiger is currently staying, just one mile from the property she is renting, suggesting a public reconciliation could be on the way.
Mr Steinberg added Tiger is keen to get back into the game with the least amount of fuss as possible, but understands he needs to address recent events.
He said: 'While Tiger feels that what happened is fundamentally a matter between he and his wife, he also recognises that he has hurt and let down a lot of other people who were close to him. Elin Nordegren Elin Nordegren
Elin was photographed carrying two coffees into her former family home, where Tiger is currently living, in Florida today
'He also let down his fans. He wants to begin the process of making amends and that's what he's going to discuss.'
It is unknown when the 34-year-old will return to the sport which made him famous, although speculation is that he will play at the unofficial Tavistock Cup event in Isleworth, Florida, on 22 and 23 March.
Tiger has faced intense press speculation since apologising for his 'transgressions'. Porn star Joslyn James claims she fell pregnant twice during her alleged three-year affair with Tiger
Porn star Joslyn James claims she fell pregnant twice during her alleged three-year affair with Tiger
The most recent story saw porn star Joslyn James, who claims she had a lengthy affair with the sportsman, allege she twice fell pregnant during her time with Tiger.
The 32-year-old never told the golf superstar about the pregnancies - but said she was about to when she miscarried the first baby.
She later had an abortion during the second pregnancy.
Speaking on the U.S. show Inside Edition, the actress read out an alleged text message from Tiger, which supposedly said: 'You please me like no other has or ever will. I'm not losing that.'
Speaking about her pregnancies, Joslyn added: 'The first time was when she (Elin) was pregnant with Sam.
'And the second time was When she was pregnant with Charlie.'
Sam was born in 2007 and Charlie was born in 2009.
Joslyn added: 'I didn't tell him (Tiger).
'Actually, the day I was going to tell him I ended up having a miscarriage.'
Tim Tebow’s Super Bowl ad is still garnering its share of controversy, despite the fact that no one has seen it.
Currently, Americans United for Life Action, the first national pro-life organization on America, and LifeNews.com, a news source for the pro-life community, have more than 38,000 fans on their Facebook page, “Support Tebow’s Super Bowl Ad.”
As we reported the other day, the Internet has been all aflutter as of late over an ad featuring college football star, Tim Tebow. In the ad, which is being paid for by Focus on the Family, Tebow and his mother explain how he would have never been born if his mother (who was not in good health) had had an abortion.
The ad is to air on CBS during the Big Game, and a variety of factions are up in arms: everyone from pro choice groups to religiously inclined groups, like this one, who is angry because CBS once rejected an ad from the United Church of Christ. Parodies are even beginning to emerge.
Still, there are several groups, like Americans United for Life Action, rallying to keep the spot on the air in an attempt to maintain free speech. Fans are joining the group by the second — when I began writing this post there were around 37,800 members, now there are close to 38,500. The group is even asking fans to make like Tebow:
“AUL Action encourages you to make a short video about your own personal experience to share here on the Support Tebow’s Super Bowl Ad page. Just make your short video and upload it to this page. There’s a chance your video could be featured on the AUL Action blog and website.”
The fervor that this unseen ad has inspired is truly astonishing. Without even making it to the airwaves, it has already inspired so many to speak out on their respective viewpoints. Do you think CBS will pull the ad? What do you think the network should do?
Focus on the Family will air a 30 second anti-choice ad featuring University of Florida football star Tim Tebow during the Superbowl. The ad will feature the story of how Tebow's mother chose against having an abortion during her complicated pregnancy contrary to her doctors advice, according to All Headline News.
The New York Times has stated that selling "issue ads" during the Superbowl is unprecedented. Previously, CBS has rejected requests for similar ads.
The ad will cost approximately $2.8 million. According to the New York Daily News, the funding came from "very generous and committed friends." However, Focus on the Family has shown signs of severe financial pressure for years. Focus on the Family has laid off staff a total of 6 times since 2005 and most recently laid off nearly 8 percent of staff in September 2009. The organization was also dealt a blow last week when founder James Dobson, who hosts a daily radio show with 1.5 million listeners, announced that he will leave the organization to start both a new organization and a new radio show, to be called "James Dobson on the Family," reported the New York Times.
Media Resources: All Headline News 1/17/10; New York Times 1/17/10, 1/20/10; Denver Post 9/2/09; New York Daily News 1/19/10
One of Tiger's many mistresses, Loredana Jolie Ferriolo, is penning a tell-all book about the golf ace and claims that she witnessed him in gay encounters.
RadarOnline.com has learned exclusively that Loredana has claimed she saw Tiger having sexual relationships with other men. That shocking twist is something no other mistress has claimed and there has been no proof.
Can a coaching funeral last any longer than this one? Even if Jim Zorn, the ultimate optimist, didn't know it, the rest of the world knew he was a goner as far back as Sept. 27. That's when the Washington Redskins lost in Detroit to the Lions to drop to 1-2. It was over then, in Week 3 of a 16-game season. Anything less than at least one win in the playoffs and Zorn was going to be fired the week of Jan. 3, although it was plain to see early on that the Redskins didn't have what it takes to rally
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