Date: Friday, 19 February Coverage: Watch live video of Tiger Woods’ first public statement since his break from golf from about 1600 GMT on the BBC Sport website; also available on BBC Radio 5 live
Tiger Woods
Woods was practising outside his home on Thursday

Tiger Woods will speak publicly on Friday for the first time since the scandal surrounding his private life erupted in late November last year.

The 34-year-old American will address “a small group of friends, colleagues and close associates” at the Sawgrass clubhouse, Florida, at 1600 GMT.

Agent Mark Steinberg said Woods will “discuss his past and his future and plans to apologise for his behaviour”.

The 14-time major winner will not answer any questions.

Woods has not spoken in public since a single-vehicle traffic accident outside his Florida home on 27 November, which was followed by media reports detailing extramarital affairs, and has been on an indefinite break from golf ever since.

The world number one married Swedish model Elin Nordegren, 30, in 2004 and the couple have two young children.

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This is Woods taking a grip once more, reasserting his influence

“While Tiger feels that what happened is fundamentally a matter between he and his wife, he also recognises that he has hurt and let down a lot of other people who were close to him,” said Steinberg.

“He also let down his fans. He wants to begin the process of making amends and that’s what he’s going to discuss.

“Tiger feels as though it’s time to make amends and to publicly do that. This is all about the next step. Tiger is looking forward to it.”

Woods, whose real name is Eldrick Tont Woods, has come under fire for the timing, location and format of the event.

It takes place at the headquarters of the PGA Tour and during the high-profile WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship in Arizona.

South Africa’s Ernie Els described the move as “selfish”, adding: “This takes a lot away from the tournament.”

Englishman Oliver Wilson said: “It just seems very poor from everyone involved to have it organised. You have a brilliant event here and the sponsors are owed more to that.

Any time Tiger does something he’s going to make headlines, it’s just the way it is, you’ve just got to deal with it

Rory McIlroy

“And for the Tour to be setting up on their own headquarters, I don’t think it’s very good.”

Spaniard Sergio Garcia added: “The timing of it is not the best, but he has to do what’s best for him, I guess.”

The players are not unanimously opposed to the timing of Woods’ statement, however, with England’s Ian Poulter backing the American.

“Whenever Tiger was going to come back to talk to everybody there was going to be huge media around it, so is there a good time or a bad time to do it?

“People want to listen to what he has to say, so the sooner he does, I guess, the better. There’s only a couple of days he can possibly do that on, and I think it’s acceptable.”

The Golf Writers Association of America declined to participate in the tightly-controlled event as pool reporters.

“The position, simply put, is all or none,” said Vartan Kupelian, president of the 950-member group.

“This is a major story of international scope. To limit the ability of journalists to attend, listen, see and question Woods goes against the grain of everything we believe.”

The PGA Tour made available its clubhouse at Sawgrass for the announcement and has helped set up adjacent ballrooms at a nearby hotel for media to watch the event on closed-circuit TV.

PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem will be present when Woods speaks and is keen to see the game’s biggest star back in action soon.

“I’m pleased that he’s going to make some comments,” said Finchem. “I’m not going to assume anything.

“We’d like him back as soon as possible but we want him back importantly when he’s dealt with the issues he felt like he had to deal with to come back.”

Television ratings are said to have dropped by 50% at events where Woods usually plays, and Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy admitted that the American casts a huge shadow over the sport.

“Any time Tiger does something he’s going to make headlines, it’s just the way it is, you’ve just got to deal with it,” said McIlroy.

“The sooner he comes back the better and this whole storyline will hopefully be forgotten in a few months and he can get back to doing what he does best, which is playing great golf.”

Woods announced he would take an “indefinite break” from golf on 11 December.

“I am deeply aware of the disappointment and hurt that my infidelity has caused to so many people, most of all my wife and children,” he said in a statement at the time.

“I want to say again to everyone that I am profoundly sorry and that I ask forgiveness.”

The likely date of his return to golf is one of the hottest topics in sport, with the first major of the year, the Masters, less than two months away.

The latest speculation is that he will opt to play at the unofficial – and private – Tavistock Cup event on his home course Isleworth in Florida from 22-23 March.

The Masters, which Woods has won four times, takes place at Augusta National from 8-11 April.

Woods has won 14 major titles and needs five more to surpass the record of 18 held by compatriot Jack Nicklaus.

Joslyn James Wants Apology From Tiger Woods

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — One of Tiger Woods’ alleged mistresses, porn star Veronica Siwik-Daniels, wants an apology from the golf star during his press conference on Friday.

Woods plans to speak to a small group of friends and close associates at 11 a.m. EST in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., on Friday.

He plans to discuss his past, plans for the future and apologize for his behavior.

Veronica Siwik-Daniels, also known as Joslyn James, wants to be included in that apology.

According to her lawyer, Gloria Allred, Daniels wants the golfer to “apologize to Veronica by name on Friday for all the anguish and distress that he has put her through.”

She added that Veronica wants Woods to “acknowledge that they had a three year romantic and intimate relationship, and that he told her the relationship would last a lifetime.”

“Veronica has made tremendous sacrifices for him. She gave up the porn business at his request and went into hiding when the scandal broke in order to protect him. But to date, he has not contacted her to apologize,” the New York Daily News quoted Allred as saying.

Daniels claims that Woods had impregnated her two times.

However, Woods has not admitted to having an affair with her.

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