Tiger Woods, the superstar golfer who took an indefinite break from the game in December after admitting marital infidelity, will make a public statement Friday to discuss his playing future. The world No. 1 has been in hiding since the tawdry revelations about his personal life erupted after a minor car accident in the middle of the night outside his Florida home in November. It was a stunning fall from grace for the most marketable figure in sport and one of the world's most recognizable athletes. American Woods, a 14-time major champion, will address a small gathering of reporters in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, at 11 A.M. EST (1600 GMT) Friday, his manager said. “Tiger plans to discuss his past and his future and he plans to apologize for his behavior,” Mark Steinberg said in an email to Reuters. “While Tiger feels that what happened is fundamentally a matter between he and his wife, he also recognizes that he has hurt and let down a lot of other people who were close to him. “He also let down his fans. He wants to begin the process of making amends and that's what he's going to discuss.” Woods, the greatest player of his generation and arguably of all time, became engulfed in a media frenzy following the bizarre pre-dawn car crash on Nov. 27. With his squeaky-clean image torn asunder by a series of allegations over his private life, he reportedly got treatment for sex addiction in Mississippi. Woods, 34, has since returned to his Orlando home where he and his Swedish wife, Elin, are believed to be living apart. Woods has given no timetable for his likely return to competition. Many pundits have predicted he will be back for the March 11-14 WGC-CA Championship in Miami, Florida while others are banking on him delaying his comeback until the US Masters in April. Augusta National, permanent home of the Masters, would provide him with the most tightly screened media contingent on the Tour, and golf fans are well aware that winning majors has been the driving force in his career. Sponsors and organizers have been counting the days before his return. The absence of Woods from events where he usually plays generally drives down television ratings by 50 percent. Ballesteros urges Woods to be patient but return Seve Ballesteros says Tiger Woods should be patient about returning to golf but urged him not to abandon the sport. Ballesteros, who is recovering from a cancerous brain tumor, says golf is going through a dip without its No. 1 player and hopes “Tiger returns to play because if he goes, golf will lose a lot.” Ballesteros, looking healthy and cracking jokes as he reminisced in front of a crowd of fans about his past achievements, says Woods is still young so there is no rush for him to return.
