Tiger Woods Does His Press Conference: The Sports World Stops to Observe

Today, Tiger Woods finally did what everyone expected him to do: He spoke out on his own behalf. The world waited for months to hear a peep from the man who has decided to do one of the greatest disappearing acts the sports world has ever seen. When there was no Tiger, there was no professional golf.

The press conference was starting on the wrong foot, as there was buzz of a boycott from golf writers, who felt that Tiger was not giving proper respect to the media by refusing to allow them to ask questions. There was also the ire communicated from his fellow golfers, such as Ernie Els, who called Tiger "selfish" for giving his press conference on a Friday, during a tournament sponsored by Accenture.

What Ernie Els failed to remember is that Accenture is the company that dropped Tiger, when he was being embarrassed by the media. There is no reason that Tiger should be the least bit hesitant about stealing the headlines away from their golf tournament. Perhaps had Accenture not decided to abandon Tiger, he might not have abandoned them.

Tiger's mother was there, the PGA Commissioner was there and one of Tiger's roommates from college was in attendance. Who was missing from the press conference? Well, the press. I'm not sure if you can actually call this a press conference when you've chosen to exclude the media. The other glaring absence from the room was Tiger's wife, Elin.

Tiger came on to stage looking like the nerdy golfer that he is, but nerdy works when people are trying to figure out whether you really are a sex addict. Additionally, Tiger seemed to take responsibility for his actions, apologizing to those he let down, letting us know that he is now in the process of rebuilding his life. The best move for Woods at the end of the press conference was a long hug he shared with his mother, who was in the front row. While I am sure the hug was natural, it was likely an advised move to replicate the famous hug Tiger shared with his father, Earl, after winning the 1997 Masters Tournament.

The statement started off contrived, like a mere formality or some kind of political announcement. But such is the life when you are a billion dollar entity and every word has to be carefully constructed. Tiger has a lot of people depending on him, and as the press conference wore on, he became more comfortable in his own skin. I also got the sense that Tiger is not going to quit. He admitted that he is determined to "live a life of integrity" and to make amends with those who love him. The press conference lasted longer than I thought it would, deviating from the typically stoic and terse nature of Tiger Woods' normal statements to the media. Tiger's press conference eventually became more of a lecture on good values, healthy living and intelligent decisions than a vanilla ice cream apology from a guy who is trying to get his money back. Woods even went in to a conversation about the teachings of Buddhism, how the incident has led him to more deeply reflect on his spiritual life and helped him become "more centered."

Tiger did not rule out a return to golf this year. He did mention, however, that he is not certain of when that date will be. If you ask me, Tiger is going to make his return this season. He can't miss a year when all of the major championships are being played on golf courses that have been kind to him in the past.

One thing that Tiger made clear during his press conference is that he is not interested in discussing this issue in the future. He doesn't want to talk about the women, his marriage or the mistakes he might have made. He also made it clear that he has never used performance-enhancing drugs. He came off as a strong family man, standing up for the integrity of his wife and demanding that the media not follow his children to school. Tiger consistently made the point that he is working to become a better human being and will eventually live up to the image that the rest of the world once had of him. Good job, Tiger, by putting this behind you, you can more easily rebuild your reputation.

Even after his press conference, Tiger Woods is going to remain strong, focused and eventually dominate the sport he has come to love. Go get 'em, Tiger. You're still a champion.