[starttext]
By Carol Driver
Interview: Tiger Woods tells ESPN he is a 'little nervous' about returning to play golf next month Love cheat Tiger Woods wants fans to clap him when he makes his golfing comeback next month, he said in his first TV interview since the sex scandal erupted.
The shamed billionaire, who agreed answer any questions but restricted the chat to five minutes, also admitted he had been ‘living a lie’.
The recording - just a month after his public apology for having at least 12 affairs - is seen as a calculated public relations drive to ease him back into the public eye as he prepares for the major tournament.
And the married father of two told how he is nervous about returning to the U.S. Masters.
Woods, 34, who has had two spells in sex rehab since November after crashing his car outside his Florida mansion, said: ‘I hurt so many people by my own reckless attitude and behaviour. I tried to stop and couldn’t stop.
Talking to TV’s Golf Channel and ESPN, he revealed he was unsure about the reception he would get from fans when he plays at the U.S. Masters on April 8.
‘I'm a little nervous about that to be honest with you,’ he said.
‘It would be nice to hear a couple claps here and there. But also hope they clap for birdies, too.’
All is forgiven? Tiger Woods with wife Elin before his spectacular fall from graceWoods also denied that his wife Elin Nordegren had attacked him on the night of the crash on November 27, 2009, after finding out about one of his affairs, adding: ‘Well, it's all in the police report. Beyond that, everything's between Elin and myself and that's private.’
Asked why he lost control of the car, Woods replied: ‘As I said ... that's between Elin and myself.’
A string of women - including a porn actress and cocktail waitress - have come forward and claimed they had relationships with the golfer.
He did not discuss details about his affairs but said that ‘just one is enough and obviously that wasn't the case’.
He also talked of the ‘brutal’ moments when he levelled with Elin.
He said she was, ‘Hurt. Very hurt. Shocked. Angry. And, you know, she had every right to be and I'm as disappointed as everyone else in my own behaviour because I can't believe I actually did that to the people I loved.’
Woods agreed to speak with a reporter from the U.S. sports channel ESPN sports and did not place any restrictions on questions that were asked.
His only stipulation for the interview, which was carried out at the luxury Isleworth complex, near Orlando, Florida, was that it would last no longer than five minutes.
Last week, it was revealed that Elin had put on hold plans to divorce Woods to help him rebuild his shattered life after his fall from grace.
And since completing his treatment he has been seen with 30-year-old at their home in Isleworth, Florida.
Woods, who has been in therapy for nearly half of the past four months, said of his eagerly awaited return: ‘I'm excited to get back and play. I'm excited to get to see the guys again.
‘I really miss a lot of my friends out there. I miss competing. But still, I still have a lot more treatment to do, and just because I'm playing, doesn't mean I'm gonna stop going to treatment.’
The sportsman - famed for his privacy - conceded the world knew him ‘a lot better now’.
Scandal: Woods was linked to 12 women, among them (l-r) Loredana Jolie, Rachel Uchitel and Jaimee Grubbs‘I was living a life of a lie,’ he said. ‘I really was. And I was doing a lot of things, like I said, that hurt a lot of people.
‘And stripping away denial and rationalisation you start coming to the truth of who you really are and that can be very ugly.
‘But then again, when you face it and you start conquering it and you start living up to it. The strength that I feel now, I've never felt that type of strength.’
Woods's last tournament appearance was on November 15, 2009 - when he won the Australian Masters.
[endtext]