AUGUSTA, Ga. — The Tiger Woods who sat for his first press conference yesterday since the revelation of his numerous extra-marital affairs looked humbled and vulnerable. The aura of invincibility was shattered, replaced by the pain of having to miss his son’s first birthday because he was in sex rehab.
“That was very hard that day and something I regret and I probably will for the rest of my life,” Woods told a packed gathering and no doubt millions watching on television and the Internet.
Aside from the Nike gear, there was little evidence of the confident athlete who has won 14 major championships. If Woods wanted to present himself as humbled and guilt-ridden, he largely succeeded during his 35-minute press conference inside the interview room at Augusta National. While that might resonate with his rehab counselors, that’s not the man the patrons outside the interview room came to see.
Their hope is that rehab hasn’t tamed Tiger on the golf course. They want to see the same Tiger that has won four Green Jackets and dazzled them with his brilliant shot-making skills. They’re ready to talk about birdies and not bimbos.
“He’s one of the best ever, so it’s a thrill to have exposure to someone like that in your lifetime,” said Dwight Hanson, 52, of Omaha. “It’s disappointing he didn’t have the standards you thought he had. But I’m glad he’s back. I’m glad he’s playing. I can separate his personal life from the guy who makes all those incredible shots.”
That was the consensus of about dozen patrons interviewed by The Post during yesterday’s first public practice round. Most of them don’t care about the mistresses; they don’t care how he got five stitches in his lip the night he crashed in his driveway; and they don’t really care about his future rehab schedule. They want to see him on the first tee on Thursday.
“He does so much for the game of golf,” said Len Scott III of North Augusta, S.C. “I have a firm belief he’s going to win here because he has something to prove, not to me, but to himself.”
Woods has 71 wins on the PGA Tour because he is one the most driven and focused athletes in sports. But yesterday, he said: “It’s not about championships. It’s about how you live your life.”
Woods said he wasn’t sure what kind of reception he would get during yesterday’s practice round, but it was a virtual lovefest with the patrons who gave both he and Fred Couples huge ovations on every hole.
“They were about three deep here,” said Bert Marks, the marshal on the famed par-5 15th. “Nothing but cheers.”
Woods yesterday embraced the crowd. He fist-pumped patrons on the eighth tee and putted some balls to kids on the 18th green when he was done. Maybe it was show. Maybe it was sincere. It’s hard to know for sure anymore.
Most Masters fans have been coming here for generations.They are a respectful bunch and apparently very forgiving especially when it’s time for the Masters.
Enough about the bimbos. It’s time to talk birdies.