“Selfish” Woods accused of sponsor revenge 19/02/2010 |
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Tiger Woods has been accused of “sticking it” to one of his former sponsors after choosing to break his silence over the scandal that has engulfed his private life in the middle of the biggest tournament of the year so far.
The world No 1 will make a statement in Florida later today (Feb 19) while the Accenture World Match Play Championship is being held in Tucson, Arizona. Accenture was one of the first companies to dump Woods after he admitted marital infidelity and announced he was taking an indefinite break from golf.
Ernie Els told US magazine Golf Week: “It's selfish – you can write that. I feel sorry for the sponsor. Mondays are a good day to make statements, not Friday. This takes a lot away from the golf tournament."
Another player in Tucson, who did not want to be named, added: "That was the first thing we all thought of, like he is sticking it to Accenture – and that the PGA Tour is part of it all," referring to the fact that Woods has been given use of the Tour's headquarters to make the statement without taking any questions.
"It's like Tim [Finchem, the PGA Tour commissioner] has lost his head. He wants Tiger back in the worst way and so he lets this go on. I mean, we all want to see Tiger back, but this doesn't look good."
Woods' agent Mark Steinberg pointed out that when his client addresses a small gathering of "friends, colleagues and close associates", plus a few reporters and one TV camera, the golf will not have actually started at Dover Mountain in Tucson.
Steinberg claimed he had called one of Accenture's executives to give a "heads up" and made sure the statement would come "well outside the tournament's TV window”. Accenture, he added, “couldn't have been more supportive".
Despite the criticism over the timing of the statement and the damage done to his reputation by a string of allegations about extra-marital affairs, publicist Max Clifford believes that Woods’ earning power will be largely unaffected by the scandal once he returns to the sport.
"Nike have stayed with him, two or three of his major sponsors have stayed with him, because they don't think his activities away from the golf course will upset their clients," Clifford told Sky News.
"Obviously they study these things very carefully and the market research is very thorough. As long as Tiger Woods continues to be the greatest golfer in the world, the hundreds of millions will continue to flood in and he will be the biggest attraction anywhere he goes and plays golf.
"Obviously there are people in America who have been offended by his off-the-course activities, but in terms of his success and his earning prowess, as long as he continues to be incredibly talented on the golf course, it won't make any difference at all. People want to see the best, and he is."
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