Stressful ... Woods composes himself
CHEATING Tiger Woods promised to mend his ways yesterday - with the help of Buddhism.
The golf superstar had tears in his eyes as he apologised for betraying wife Elin during flings with a string of women.
In a 13½-minute speech, Tiger, 34, said fame and fortune had led him to act as though he lived by different rules from his millions of fans.
He confessed: "I was unfaithful. I had affairs. I cheated."
Tiger will return to rehab today to continue the fight to rehabilitate himself and save his marriage. And he also revealed he is turning for support to the Buddhist faith.
The winner of 14 golf majors said: "I was raised a Buddhist and I actively practised my faith from childhood until I drifted away from it in recent years.
"Buddhism teaches to stop following every impulse and learn restraint. Obviously, I lost track of what I was taught."
Tiger's mum Kultida sat in the front row at the PGA HQ in Ponte Vedra, Florida, as he bared his soul to a carefully selected crowd of family, friends and colleagues.
Blonde Elin, 30, was not present but is understood to have watched on TV at the home where she is living separately from her husband.
She would have heard emotional dad-of-two Tiger say he was "deeply sorry" for his "irresponsible and selfish behaviour."
He admitted: "I stopped living by the core values that I was taught to believe in. I knew my actions were wrong, but I convinced myself that normal rules didn't apply.
"I never thought about who I was hurting. I thought only about myself. I thought I could get away with whatever I wanted.
"I felt I had worked hard my entire life and deserved to enjoy all the temptations around me.
"Thanks to money and fame, I didn't have to go far to find them."
Tiger confirmed he had already spent 45 days trying to overcome his problems in therapy.
He said: "I need to regain my balance and be centred so I can save the things most important to me - my marriage and my children."
Tiger's world started falling apart when he crashed his car outside his Florida home last November 27 - hours after Elin rumbled his cheating.
But yesterday he said he and Elin had begun the process of healing their marriage. And he firmly denied reports that she assaulted him.
He insisted Elin "showed enormous grace and poise throughout this ordeal".
Tiger said he would return to golf - and did not rule out this year. PGA tour commissioner Tim Finchem said later: "He will play when he's ready."
Mum Kultida, who he embraced at the end of his speech, said: "He will come out stronger, a better person."
Sponsors Nike said: "We fully support him and his family."
More than a dozen women, including models, escorts, porn stars and waitresses, claimed to have romped with Tiger as the scandal grew.
Last night one of them - Joslyn James, 32 - claimed she gave up her porn career for the golfer.
Joslyn, who says he twice got her pregnant, wept and said: "Tiger pursued me and I fell in love with him. He told me he loved me too."
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