Is Elin even angrier after Tiger Woods’s apology?

Tiger Woods Elin Nordegren

The world stood still for the golfer’s mea culpa, but pundits are split over his sincerity

BY Jonathan Harwood LAST UPDATED AT 06:40 ON Mon 22 Feb 2010

Has Tiger Woods's televised apology for his string of affairs made things even worse between him and his wife, Elin Nordegren? While pundits across the globe have been scrutinising his performance and debating the golfer's sincerity, some in the media still don’t believe Nordegren wants him back – and say she was angered by the number of times he referred to her during the 13-and-a-half minute statement.
 
Nordegren felt that her errant husband was "pressurising her publicly" by speaking about her and their relationship. The News of the World claims that she is prepared to help her husband overcome his problems for the sake of their children, but believes that their marriage is over.
 
She was also annoyed that Woods made last-minute changes to his speech. The Sunday Mirror claims she was expecting the golfer to announce he was returning to competition and was shocked when he instead revealed he was heading back to therapy. The U-turn left Nordegren feeling "hurt and manipulated".
 
Whatever he does next it is unlikely that Woods will ever have the world's undivided attention as he seemingly did on Friday. His self-flagellation was carried live on TV networks in America and beyond and shown live on the web: proceedings at the Winter Olympics in Vancouver stopped briefly as people watched Woods’s statement.
 
WHAT THEY HAVE BEEN SAYING:

The Observer: "It was stilted, scripted, contrived and, at times, downright scary. But it did not ooze insincerity, as some had expected. It took bravery to deliver those 1,509 words straight to camera and only feet away from his mother. It would be remarkably cynical to dismiss it as a hollow act, one step on the road to multi-million-dollar rehabilitation."

Sally Jenkins, the Washington Post:  "Here's the problem: Woods and his handlers staged a fake news conference to apologise for being fake. To these ears, it was stilted and rehearsed to the point of insincerity."

Martin Samuel, the Mail on Sunday: "As a lesson in celebrity mea culpa it was almost flawless. The marketing men who the broadcast networks cut to instantly for reaction could barely conceal their joy. Position perfect, pitch perfect, it was like one of his stunningly executed 300-yard drives. All that was missing was some buffoon behind the tee shouting 'get in the hole' as it took flight."

Larry Dorman, the New York Times: "Now that Tiger Woods has made his apologies and begun to mend his fences, the focus on the PGA Tour shifts to what he left unsaid in his carefully crafted and brilliantly delivered mea culpa on Friday: When will he return to competition?"
 
Fiona McIntosh, the Sunday Mirror: "With the forced delivery of a condemned man, he read out a script that had clearly been prepared by one of his legions of PRs, agents and advisers. There was humility in those carefully-scripted words, but he looked as if someone was holding a gun at his back."

Psychologist Geoffrey Beattie, the Guardian: "It was a masterful performance by Tiger Woods. Good apologies have a number of components: expression of remorse, taking responsibility, forbearance and office of repair. This apology had them all."
 
James Lawton, the Independent: "What was clear enough was that, despite the allegations of his critics, Woods was seeking no easy route back to the grandeur of his old life. There was no hedging in his statement of guilt and regret."

Nick Faldo, in an interview with CNN: "It was a pretty complete apology and very embarrassing for him, to take the world stage and to apologise for what he has been up to. However, he still left the big question that we as golfers all wanted to know, and that's when he will come back to the course." · 

Comments

Get back on the golf course and start winning. The hypocritical media should mind their own business. It is a private matter. Contrary to what is published he is not a public figure like,say, John Edwards who wanted to be President.

His apology had absolutely no heart, emotion or sincerity, he only feels bad he was caught. If his wife is smart and I bet she is, she will move on.

He is a great golfer. I hope he gets back to it and I do not want to see him anywhere else!

My 2 cents!

I would like to console his wife. I wonder if he would mind? Things that make you go humm.

I feel sure that the majority of olfers coldn't care less about Tiger Woods. I certainly detest the self centred chap and wouldn't care if he never played golf again.

Comments are now closed on this article