Former world number one Ernie Els slammed Tiger Woods as “selfish” ahead of the 14-time major winner’s first public statement on Friday since a sex scandal pushed him into seclusion.
The criticism from the famously laid-back South African, came as Woods prepared to break his silence on the third day of the Accenture Match Play Championship in Arizona, the biggest golfing event of the year so far.
“It’s selfish,” the three-time major winner nicknamed “The Big Easy” told US magazine Golf Week. “I feel sorry for the sponsor. Mondays are a good day to make statements, not Friday. This takes a lot away from the golf tournament.”
Consulting firm Accenture was one of the first companies to sever ties with Woods after the billionaire athlete saw his squeaky clean image tarnished in December over revelations of affairs with a stream of women.
The errant star’s agent Mark Steinberg told Golf Week he had given Accenture “a heads up” about the statement at on Friday at the headquarters of the US PGA Tour in Florida.
Steinburg said the statement would be given “well outside the tournament’s TV window” and that “Accenture couldn’t have been more supportive” over the move.
It remains to be seen how deep Woods, 34, will delve into the scandal that emerged after a mysterious car crash outside his Florida home in the early hours of November 27.
Steinberg said earlier that Woods “wants to begin the process of making amends, and that’s what he’s going to discuss”, although he emphasised in a statement that the disgraced golfer’s remarks “is NOT a news conference”.
‘This isn’t coming clean’
A prominent golf agent, who asked not to be named, insisted to the golfing magazine on Wednesday that Woods “hasn’t accomplished anything if he doesn’t take questions … Then there will still be questions. This isn’t coming clean.
“I don’t know what it accomplishes. Not answering questions is a big slap in the face to golf,” the agent said.
Woods will make a statement to a select group of media, with one television camera to relay the event live, but he won’t take questions, Steinberg said on Wednesday.
“While Tiger feels that what happened is fundamentally a matter between him and his wife, he also recognises that he has hurt and let down a lot of other people who were close to him,” Steinberg said in a statement.
“He also let down his fans. He wants to begin the process of making amends, and that’s what he’s going to discuss.”
Showing support
British Open champion Stewart Cink appeared more supportive of the move.
“It’s encouraging that he’s coming back to at least be seen by the public, and the rest of us, too,” he said at the Accenture tournament in Arizona.
Ireland’s Padraig Harrington said Woods was wise to make his first public appearance a strictly controlled one.
“The first time out, he’s better controlling it,” Harrington said. “Over time, there will be questions. At the moment, the best thing is a more controlled environment and gradually ease his way back into it.”
After the crash, a welter of women claimed they had affairs with Woods, and he became a target of tabloids and television comedians.
In December, Woods announced via his website that he would take an “indefinite break” from golf.
“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,” the married father of two said in a statement at the time.
Since then speculation has raged as to his whereabouts, the state of his marriage and perhaps most importantly when and where he will make his return to competitive golf. — AFP