Tiger Woods called Arnold Palmer to apologize for not competing in his upcoming tournament at Bay Hill. Woods instead will make his post-sex scandal comeback at Augusta national Golf Club where he will play in the Masters April 8-11.

The world’s No. 1 ranked golfer player and Associated Press Athlete Of The Decade made the announcement in a prepared statement yesterday.

“The Masters is where I won my first major and I view this tournament with great respect. After a long and necessary time away from the game, I feel like I’m ready to start my season at Augusta,” said Woods.

“The major championships have always been a special focus in my career and, as a professional, I think Augusta is where I need to be, even though it’s been a while since I last played.”

Woods will have to work out the rust while trying his best to ignore all the certain distractions surrounding his personal life and infidelities while trying to win in a tournament he has not won since 2005.

Woods has not competed since Nov. 15 when he won the Australian Masters in Melbourne.

A few weeks after that win, he was involved in a one-vehicle accident in front of his home, where his wife Elin Nordegren admitted smashing out the window of his Cadillac SUV with a golf club.

The couple would soon become the main attraction for both mainstream media and tabloid journalists after several women came forward admitting to affairs with the golfer.

After avoiding the media and going into hibernation for several weeks, Woods finally confessed to the affairs after voice mail messages involving he and one of his alleged lovers were made public.

After avoiding the media for several more weeks, he put together a monitored conference that felt more like a funeral than an apology where several friends and family members attended to listen to him read a rehearsed statement. After the reading,  the golfer refused to accept any questions from the couple of hand-picked members of the media.

The Arnold Palmer Invitational that Woods is skipping is a tournament he has won the last two years and six times overall. This will be the first time Woods has not played in PGA Bay Hill event that is a short drive from his home in Isleworth.

“I called both Joe Lewis and Arnold Palmer and expressed my regrets for not attending the Tavistock Cup and the Arnold Palmer Invitational. I again want to thank them both for their support and their understanding,” said Woods. “Those are fantastic tournaments and I look forward to competing in them again.”

In a recent interview, the Golf Channel asked Palmer about that conversation. “He had some zip in his voice,” Palmer told the network.

“He sounded just fine. He knows what he wants to do with his life and the way he’s going to handle it, and I guess we’re going to give him that respect. I would think for Tiger it’s going to be tough. It’s going to be something that’s going to take him a little time to get used to. He expressed his regret for not being able to play. He said that he was sorry, that he really didn’t feel his game was up to speed to start playing this early.”

More Tiger:

Woods Apology Felt More Like a Funeral  – Sports Climax

Woods Voted AP Athlete of the Decade – Sports Climax

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Steve Williams has had the dream job of a lifetime, dragging around golf clubs for Tiger Woods, the most famous golfer of all time.

After an interview on 60 Minutes last night where he said he “would have blown the whistle” on Woods if he knew of the affairs, it’s hard not to wonder if the caddie will remain at Woods’ side if and when he ever returns to the game.

A friend admitting he would have “blown the whistle” certainly doesn’t sound like a man you want by your side at a time the Paparazzi is in overdrive to stalk down your every move.

Williams also said he is still a close friend of Woods and will stand by him.

Here is some of the dialogue Williams had with the television production crew for the show.

“In some people’s perception, I’m involved in it and I’ve committed a crime or I’ve done wrong,” Williams said. “I’ve said it before. I knew nothing, and that’s my answer.”

“If the shoe was on somebody else’s [foot], I would say the same thing: that it would be very difficult for the caddie not to know but I’m a hundred per cent telling you I knew nothing and that’s that. “I’m a straight-up sort of person. If I’d have known something was going on, the whistle would have been blown. He knows that, that’s just the way I operate.”

“Of course I’m mad at him. Why would you not be? I’m more disappointed that he’s let his family down and let himself down.” Williams, who says he is close to Tiger Woods’ wife Erin Nordegren, went on to say he still has not talked to Woods about the infidelities.

“It’s not up to me to beat him with a stick right now. He’s getting enough grilling from everybody else; the media have had a feeding frenzy. I’m a friend right now. There’s a time and place for everything. Obviously at some point in time, I’ll have a conversation with him. I’d like to see him back playing on the PGA tour. That’s my role right now.”

“I stand by Tiger as a friend. When I talk to him, I don’t talk to him about what’s happened, I talk to him about the future and what we’re going to try and accomplish and how we’re going to get over it.”

Williams’ wife, Kirsty, said it has been difficult seeing her husband dealing with the public’s speculation and accusations that he knew about the affairs over the years.

“He [Williams] is just seen as a bad guy. People are calling for him to be fired. It’s not fair.”

Tiger Woods Apology Felt More Like a Funeral – Video

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Tiger Woods is on the right path to recovery says Craig Gross, a minister with a special focus. He helps many in the porn industry and athletes who suffer from addictions to porn and other forms of sex addiction.Gross made it plain in a interview this afternoon that he wouldn’t have thought Woods was serious if he announced a time table for a return to golf.

Speaking from his base in Las Vegas, Gross said that phase one of Woods’ treatment consisted of breaking down the barriers to admitting he had a problem and taking full responsibility for the collateral damage. That had to be done all by himself.

Phase two will take Woods and his wife Elin through the grueling work of discovering if their marriage will survive and must be done with the couple spending time together but not necessarily living in one place.

“If he is really serious he’ll ignore golf for as long as it takes”, Gross told me. “If we hear about a quick return to the Tour it will coincide with the announcement that his marriage is over.”

This seems to parallel what the world heard from Tiger during his first public appearance. It also flies in the face of all the public relations pros and crisis managers who have droned on about why Woods was taking the wrong approach.

Even if the golfer is as diligent as he can be, he and his wife may be unable to stay together. “There is no more than a 50-50 chance of success for couples despite their good intentions”, Gross said.

The odds aren’t helped by the fact that Woods’ decision to seek treatment only came after he was publicly humiliated. “Forced recovery after being caught”, said Gross, “is not the best way to begin the process.”

Perhaps those who are judging Tiger Woods by standards best left for Toyota’s attempts to publicly rehabilitate itself or ball players who used performance enhancers should learn about how someone reconstructs a shattered life when he wants to fix himself, not just his image.

Gross explained that part of Woods’ recovery is to focus on the most important task at hand and live with the consequences of being judged on facts that might not be accurate. For a controlling personality that can be the most difficult part.

Paula Duffy is a national sports columnist for Examiner.com and the Huffington Post and regularly comments on sports/legal matters for radio affiliates of ESPN and Fox Sports. She founded the sports information site, Incidental Contact, is the author of a line of audio books designed for sports novices and in her spare time practices law in Los Angeles. 

In an atmosphere resembling a funeral more than a press conference, Tiger Woods read an apology from a written script today and by the time it was all said and done, he actually made George W. Bush look like an awesome public speaker.

The vast majority of the crowd was made up of Woods’ friends and a few family members including his mother who, in common funeral fashion, was dressed in black. Throughout the 13 minutes of the read, the ‘audience’ basically sat motionless staring ahead.

The delivery felt over-rehearsed and with no interaction with the audience, it was morgue-like.

It was hard not to imagine that the few times Woods looked directly into the camera to deliver a particular line, that there wasn’t a note on the paper saying ‘Look into the lens for several seconds now’; it felt that rehearsed and premeditated.

The question will be debated, ‘Was Tiger’s apology sincere?’ You be the judge, here’s the video here:

While this debate picks up steam over the weekend, the fact he hand-picked a few media members and basically held a closed-door meeting with instructions to the attendees not to ask any questions should come into play.

That in itself will have many people doubting Tiger’s sincerity and intentions.

During the speech Woods said he was sorry for the “irresponsible and selfish behavior I engaged in.” and referring to his friends said “Now, every one of you has good reason to be critical of me.”

Woods wife Elin was not in attendance and he explained that no personal questions about his wife and he will ever be answered.

He went on to say “I was unfaithful. I had affairs. I cheated. What I did was unacceptable and I am the only person to blame,” and “I do plan to return to golf one day. I just don’t know when that day will be. I don’t rule out it will be this year. When I do return, I need to make my behavior more respectful of the game.”

He closed out the address talking about the benefits of being brought up through his mother’s faith, Buddhism then after finishing at the podium he walked over and hugged his mother.

The sports airwaves are sure to be sizzling with this debate into next week and already got off to a hot start.

Skip Bayless on ESPN First Take questioned the sincerity of those few remarks delivered straight into the lens while Rick Reilly said he thought it was totally sincere.

Copyright © 2010 – Sports Climax

Article updated on December 18, 2009

The Associated Press selected Tiger Woods as the Athlete of the Decade.

During a period of turmoil surrounding Woods’ personal life and his infidelity to wife Elin Nordegren Woods, Woods received 56 of 142 votes cast by the AP editors.  A majority of those tallies were sent in after the controversial November car accident that involved the golf great.

Woods had 64 wins including 12 tournament majors and 56 PGA Tour victories and lost just one time with the lead going into the final round.

Cyclist Lance Armstrong who defeated cancer and was victorious in the Tour de France six times finished way behind Woods with 33 votes. Tennis star Roger Federer finished third with 25 votes.

Just days after receiving this honor, ABC News reported that Woods wife Elin would be seeking a divorce.

It was reported that “A source close to Woods’ wife, Elin Nordegren, told ABC News.com that a “divorce is 100 percent on.” this coming just days after Elin was photographed without her wedding ring.

Kate Coyne, senior editor at People Magazine reaffirmed the story when she told the Good Morning America show that “Sources have told us that Elin has told us this marriage is over and she is looking to divorce.” 

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