Biggest news of the day: Woods' unscripted press conference

Tiger Woods appeared outwardly relaxed and definitely reflective during his 35-minute news conference on Monday. He was reserved at times, forthright at others, as he tackled a wide-ranging variety of golf and non-golf questions.

By Helen Ross, PGATOUR.COM Chief of Correspondents

AUGUSTA, Ga. – In terms of news, there really wasn’t any.

Tiger Woods was talking, though, and the tiny square ticket that admitted roughly 200 reporters to his first news conference since that Thanksgiving night car accident was as coveted as any Masters badge.

The accident outside Woods' Isleworth home was followed by an admission of serial infidelity, 45 days in rehabilitation for reasons he would describe only as "personal" and a five-month break from competition that ends this week at Augusta National.

Woods' self-imposed seclusion had been broken only by a televised statement in February and a pair of five-minute interviews 15 days ago. On Monday, though, Tiger stepped into what must have seemed to him like the lion's den and answered questions, uncensored and unscripted, for 35 minutes.

Only one reporter per media outlet was allowed into the interview. The line formed in the lobby of the Press Building before the doors to the interview room even opened at 1:15 p.m. -- which was 45 minutes before the press conference was scheduled to begin.

The ever-growing line moved slowly while the number of each ticket was checked against the assigned name and credential. As the reporters shuffled closer to the door, one scribe held his ticket up and joked, "I hear there will be a raffle afterwards."

The dull roar inside the interview room quickly subsided at 2 p.m. as a cameraman, flanked by two Augusta National members, stepped into the aisle and focused on the door. As Woods strode into the room, he stopped to hug one man, Ron Townsend, and to speak to a reporter on the front row.

Less than a minute into Craig Heatley's introduction, Woods glanced at the podium and smiled for the first time as the chairman of the press committee mentioned that the world No. 1 -- and four-time champion -- was playing in his 16th Masters.

Woods appeared outwardly relaxed and definitely reflective. That said, he was reserved when asked whether his wife Elin had accompanied him to the Masters -- the answer is no -- and a follow-up inquiring as to whether he had taken enough time away from the game to repair their relationship drew perhaps the sharpest response of the afternoon.

"Well, I'm excited to play this week," Woods said curtly. He later sidestepped a question about whether his family backed his return to competition. "I've had a lot of support, and that's been the great thing about it."

Woods was more even-tempered when he fielded questions – four, to be exact -- about his relationship with Dr. Anthony Galea, a Canadian doctor currently under investigation for the distribution of performance-enhancing drugs.

Galea used platelet-enriched plasma treatments (blood-spinning) on Woods' LCL and a strained Achilles tendon in his right leg. Woods denied using human growth hormone or any PEDs but said he had a "comfort level" with Galea since he had worked with other athletes. 

Woods said federal investigators had contacted his agent, Mark Steinberg, but at the moment "they have not asked for my time."

Aside from those specifics, and several questions about the perscription drugs Vicodin and Ambien that he admits to have taken at various points during his recovery from ACL reconstruction, the rest of the interview was more emotional.

Woods talked about how much he appreciated the support the fans gave him during his practice round on Monday. He vowed to acknowledge the crowd more and to tone down his sometimes boorish behavior after mis-hit shots.

"So many kids have looked up to me and so many fans have supported me over the years," Woods said. "Just wanted to say thank you to them, especially going through all of this over the past few months, it really put things in perspective for me and how much I have appreciated or underappreciated the fans in the game of golf."

His family was another area of emphasis. Woods said his decision to enter rehab was made just prior to Christmas. He missed his son's first birthday during his stint at the clinic, Woods said, "and that hurts. That hurts a lot. I vowed I would never miss another one after that. 

"I can't go back to where I was. I want to be a part of my son's life and my daughter's life going forward and I missed his first birthday. I mean, that was very hard that day and something I regret and I probably will for the rest of my life."

Woods will be seeking his 15th major championship this week at Augusta National. His quest to eclipse Jack Nicklaus' record 18 remains, but Woods says he's more focused on the day-by-day process that will fuel his recovery. If he wins championships along the way, that's a bonus.

"When I went through that period when my father was sick and my father passed away, it put things in perspective real quick," Woods said. "And when my kids were born, again, it put it in perspective. And then what I've done here, it puts it in perspective; it's that it's not about championships. It's about how you live your life.
   
"And I had not done that the right way for a while, and I needed to change that. And going forward, I need to be a better man going forward than I was before."

At the same time, though, Woods was clearly looking forward to hitting that first shot in the first round on Thursday.

"I haven't looked forward to that tee shot in a long time, not like this," he said. "It feels fun again. You know, that's something that's been missing. Have I been winning, have I been competing, have I been doing well? Yeah, I have.

"I've won numerous times the last few years but I wasn't having anywhere near the amount of fun. Why? Because look at what I was engaged in. When you live a life where you're lying all the time, life is not fun. And that's where I was. Now that's been stripped all away and here I am. And it feels fun again."