Tiger Woods

Sergio Garcia walked past with dark glasses on. Ryo Ishikawa, the Japanese teenager, slipped into a side entrance with the agility of youth. For a while it looked as though the players here in Tucson were boycotting Tiger Woods, but then Luke Donald stopped and said a few words.

“I think it was a very sincere apology,” Donald said. “He made it very clear that he wants the media to leave his family alone, which I kind of agree with.”

It was curious that was the message to stick on the morning that the media were hassling the players for quotes. It was not quite a scrum in front of the clubhouse, but there were a few skirmishes.

But then Stewart Cink and Ben Crane arrived and we realised Woods was a vehicle for God. Cink, the Open champion, said: “I’ve got a couple of good friends at home that have gone through the alcohol abuse programme with AA. You have to make amends to the people you’ve hurt and you have to start the bridge to the other side. I think that’s where Tiger is.

“It sounded heartfelt to me. From a guy that’s done a lot of tough things in golf over the years, it was probably one of the most difficult things he’s ever had to do. We’ve all made mistakes and sinned and forgiveness is a huge part of the process.”

Crane, who won earlier this year at Torrey Pines, said: “One of my favourite stories in the Bible talks about a woman who has sinned and she’s been a prostitute. Everyone brings her before Jesus and says ‘shouldn’t we stone her?’ And Jesus says, ‘yes, absolutely, stone her. But you without sin be the one to cast the first stone’. And that’s my favourite story.

“I thought Tiger was very humble. We all love him as a golfer and a family man. We want to see what’s best for him, and I think everything he did is going to help him get back soon.”

You have to love America. As Crane was quoting from the Bible, that old rogue Donald Trump was flicking his pointy tail. Trump said: “Tiger’s a friend of mine and I have a lot of respect for Tiger as an amazing athlete, but this whole thing has got totally out of hand. I would recommend Tiger just call it a bad experience, say bye-bye, go out, be a wonderful playboy, win tournaments and have a good life. The most important thing Tiger can do is get back on the golf course and win.”

However, Woods still has a long way to go to recover the corporate good will he has squandered.

Marketing experts say rebuilding Tiger Inc. will be possible only when he returns to the golf course. His televised apology Friday left the timing of that in doubt — though he didn’t rule out coming back this year.

That leaves marketers waiting.

“I don’t think anyone would want to rush out for someone, who by his own words, says he still needs treatment,” said Rick Burton, former chief marketing officer of the US Olympic Committee and now a sports marketing professor at Syracuse University.

Woods’ statement was a necessary first step, said Vada Manager, a Nike executive for 12 years before leaving to start his own company. “It would have been difficult for him to return to golf without that happening,” Manager said.

The statement, he said, included the essential ingredients: a sincere public apology, accountability for his personal behaviour and a prescription for how it would be remedied. “Winning, good behaviour and time can be his friends in the long term,” Manager said. The golf star’s array of endorsement deals helped him become the first sports star to earn $1 billion, according to a financial magazine.

Woods’ strength as pitchman was tied to the perception of athleticism, power and integrity people once associated with him, marketing experts say. Now, his value lies almost solely in his strength as a golfer.

The companies that have stuck most closely by Woods, Nike Inc. and Electronic Arts Inc., reiterated their support Friday.

Accenture spokesman Fred Hawrysh said the company had no comment about the announcement other than to say Woods’ acknowledgment of the fact that the announcement took place at the same time as the Accenture Match Play Championship was “a gracious gesture.”