Piaras Kelly PR – Public Relations in Ireland

There’s been lots of reaction to Tiger Wood’s apology on Friday. While many people felt his performance was slightly wooden, it was an apology made on his terms. Woods’ management pointed out that he wouldn’t be taking any questions from the media and carefully controlled the event itself, which wouldn’t have endeared himself to the press in the first place.

The timing of the announcement, however, appears to have been the poorest decision of the PR exercise. The press conference coincided with the Accenture Match Play Championship in Arizona; Accenture were one of Woods’ sponsors who choose to end their association with the sports star in light of the ongoing revelations about Woods’ private life.

This opened him up to criticism that he was trying to take some of the limelight away from the competition, something which Ernie Els, a fellow golf professional, was quick to criticise him for. “It’s selfish. I feel sorry for the sponsor (Accenture). Mondays are a good day to make statements, not Friday. This takes a lot away from the golf tournament.”

All apologies are judged are their sincerity. While his press conference performance was wooden and some aspects such as the embrace with his mother could be construed as staged, Woods deserves the privacy to make amends for his transgressions in private. When he returns to the golf course however, Woods is likely to see that some of his fellow professionals will have found his conduct on the handling of the scandal wanting and it could be a cloud that hangs over him for the rest of his career as a result.