Tiger Woods gave two interviews to the press on Sunday: one to ESPN, the other to the Golf Channel. And none to Oprah.
They were the first Tiger’s granted since his November 27 one-car accident and ensuing sex scandal sent him into hiding last fall.
(I was among those who speculated Winfrey would get the first crack at Tiger’s attempt to rehabilitate his image; instead, it was Tom Rinaldi.)
And like Tiger’s press conference last month, they were controlled (both from his home in Windermere, Florida) and purposely short (both networks got just five minutes with the golfer).
So short, ESPN’s own Bill Simmons quipped: “Enjoyed the [first] episode of ESPN's new series, ‘Frantic 5-Minute Interviews with Tom Rinaldi.’”
According to both networks, there were no restrictions on questions -- just time. (For my money, best question was from Rinaldi: "When you look at it now, why did you get married?")
Below, the ESPN interview in its entirety, a link to the Golf Channel’s, and transcripts from both.
Rinaldi:
What's the difference between the man who left Augusta national a year ago and the one who is about to return?
Woods: A lot has transpired in my life. A lot of ugly things have happened. Things that...I've done some pretty bad things in my life. And uh, all came to a head. But now, after treatment, going for inpatient treatment for 45 days and more outpatient treatment, I'm getting back to my old roots.
Rinaldi: For a lot of people, the spark of those bad things is Nov. 27. Early that day, what happened?
Woods: Well, it's all in the police report. Beyond that, everything's between Elin and myself and that's private.
Rinaldi: Why did you lose control of the car?
Woods: As I said ... that's between Elin and myself.
Rinaldi: If it's a private matter, why issue a public apology?
Woods: Well, I owe a lot of people an apology. I hurt a lot of people. Not just my wife. My friends, my colleagues, the public, kids who looked up to me. There were a lot of people that thought I was a different person and my actions were not according to that. That's why I had to apologize. I was so sorry for what I had done.
Rinaldi: You've said you've made transgressions. How would you, in your own words, describe the depth of your infidelity?
Woods: Well, just one is, is enough. And obviously that wasn't the case, and I've made my mistakes. And as I've said, I've hurt so many people, and so many people I have to make an amends to, and that's living a life of amends.
Rinaldi: You said you were in treatment. The simple question is, for what?
Woods: That's a private matter as well. But I can tell you what, it was tough, it was really tough to look at yourself in a light that you never want to look at yourself, that's pretty brutal.
