Tiger Woods' Non-Press Conference

As hard as I may try it is impossible to ignore the Tiger Woods non-press conference. My followers are clamoring for my insightful comments.

First of all, congratulations to Elin Nordegren Woods for not attending the press conference. I am sure that the Woods camp tried to pressure her to attend. It is sad to see the "deer in the headlights" faithful spouse at the philandering husband's press conference, e.g., Silda and Eliot Spitzer. Throughout this episode, Elin has graduated from the lowly au pair that Tiger Woods elevated to stardom to become a strong woman in her own right (rumor has that she knocked some of Tiger's teeth out and he flew to Phoenix for some oral surgery immediately after the car crash). It was also interesting that Tiger was not wearing his wedding ring.

Second, Although it was an empty gesture by the Golf Writers Association of America (GWAA), congratulations to the GWAA for having the backbone to tell the Woods camp that it would not accept the rules imposed on the non-press conference and would not provide the three pool reporters originally permitted by Woods (later Woods offered to permit six pool reporters). I do not know if we will ever know exactly how many people worldwide watched or listened to the non-press conference live, either on television, through streaming video or otherwise, but I have a feeling that the numbers were huge even though it was held on a weekday morning. Volume on the New York Stock Exchange dropped dramatically during the 15-minute speech as everyone on the floor of the exchange stopped to watch the television monitors.

Third, of course the speech and the pregnant pauses and the times when he looked directly into the camera were scripted by the Tiger team. So what! Tiger apologized to everyone (other than the mistresses who felt they deserved apologies); admitted that he was unfaithful, had affairs and cheated on his wife; accepted personal responsibility for his transgressions; exonerated his wife from any responsibility or domestic abuse; implicitly acknowledged Tom Watson's and others' comments about his on-course demeanor and lack of respect for the game; denied using performance-enhancing drugs; and told the media that he intended to continue to zealously guard his privacy. I thought his most telling comments were his admission that he thought he was "entitled" and did not have to live by the same rules as everyone else and he could get away with whatever he wanted. Now, let's see if his actions are consistent with his words.

Finally, Tiger said that he does intend to return to professional golf and he did not rule out returning sometime this year. He needs to come back sooner rather than later. I hope that he plays in the four majors this year beginning with the Masters in early April. The best way for Tiger to begin to rebuild his image and his marketing empire is to come back to the tour and win with grace and respect for the game and, if he and Elin reconcile, be a good husband, and in any case be a good father.