Tiger Woods acknowledged “living a lie,” saying he alone was responsible for the sex scandal that caused his downfall and that no one in his inner circle was aware of his misdeeds.
“It was all me. I’m the one who did it. I’m the one who acted the way I acted. No one knew what was going on when it was going on,” Woods told The Golf Channel in one of two interviews Sunday night. A second one was aired on ESPN.
“I’m sure if more people would have known in my inner circle, they would have stopped it or tried to put a stop to it. But I kept it all to myself,” he said.
Answering questions on camera for the first time since his early morning car crash last November, Woods again provided few details about the crash, his marriage, his stint in a rehabilitation clinic or much of his private life.
“A lot has transpired in my life. A lot of ugly things have happened. ... I’ve done some pretty bad things in my life,” he told ESPN.
Woods also acknowledged more fully than in any of his previous statements that the public ridicule had caused him shame.
“It was hurtful, but then again, you know what? I did it,” he told The Golf Channel. “And I’m the one who did those things. And looking back on it now, with a more clear head, I get it. I can understand why people would say those things. Because you know what? It was disgusting behavior. It’s hard to believe that was me, looking back on it now.”
Woods was more comfortable and composed than during his only previous public outing, dressed in golf clothes. He said he couldn’t wait to get back to playing golf, though he had reservations about how he’ll be received when he returns to golf next month at the Masters.
“I’m a little nervous about that to be honest with you,” he told ESPN. “It would be nice to hear a couple claps here and there.”
Woods plans to end more than four months of seclusion and play at Augusta National, one of the most tightly controlled environments in golf.
Jim Furyk wins
Transitions Championship
PALM HARBOR, Fla. — Jim Furyk showed the nerves of a player trying to win for the first time on the PGA Tour. Considering how long it had been since his last victory, it felt that way.
Furyk closed with a 2-under 69 on Sunday for a one-shot victory over K.J. Choi in the Transitions Championship, his first victory since the 2007 Canadian Open to end his longest winless stretch since he first joined the tour 16 years ago.
He did just enough right on the back nine of Innisbrook that he could afford a few mistakes down the stretch, and he nearly made a whopper.
With a two-shot lead on the 18th hole of the Copperhead course, Furyk drove into the trees, nearly took out NBC reporter Roger Maltbie with his next shot and needed a good lag from 30 feet to secure a bogey.
Furyk finished at 13-under 271 and won for the 14th time in his career, moving to No. 6 in the world.
Choi, who started three shots out of the lead, was tied with Furyk through seven holes until a two-shot swing on the par-3 eighth. Choi never got any closer until the final hole. He closed with a 4-under 67, but his runner-up finish should be enough to move him to No. 47 in the world and give him a good chance to get into the Masters.
Choi raised both arms in a strongman pose when he heard about the world ranking, a good consolation prize provided he stays in the top 50 after Bay Hill next week.
Bubba Watson, who has never won on the PGA Tour or Nationwide Tour, also gave Furyk a good run and was within two shots throughout the back nine during a final round that had nearly six hours of weather delays.
Golf
Related Photos
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In a photo from video, Tiger Woods speaks during an interview near his home in Windermere, Fla., with ESPN that aired Sunday. Woods once again provided few details about the November car crash, his marriage or much of his private life. Associated Press
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