hit Tiger Woods is apprehensive about the reception he will get from the fans at next month's US Masters when he returns to the PGA Tour from self-imposed exile. The American world No. 1 has not competed since his victory at the Australian Masters on Nov. 15, following his stunning fall from grace amid tawdry revelations about his extra-marital affairs. Last week, however, Woods announced he would be making his comeback at the April 8-11 Masters, the opening major of the year and an event he has won four times before at one of his favorite venues. Talking about those plans marked the only time he smiled during either interview. “I don't know. I'm a little nervous about that to be honest with you,” he said Sunday about his return to the genteel surrounds of Augusta National where media numbers and the allocation of tickets for spectators are tightly controlled. “It would be nice to hear a couple of claps here and there. But I also hope they clap for birdies, too. “Playing is one thing,” added Woods, who finally faced questions from the media in two five-minute interviews with the Golf Channel and ESPN. “I'm excited to get back and play. “I'm excited to get to see the guys again. I really miss a lot of my friends out there. I miss competing. “But I still have a lot more treatment to do and just because I'm playing, doesn't mean I'm gonna stop going to treatment. I will have more treatment, more therapy sessions.” Woods, who has been trying to salvage his marriage to his Swedish wife Elin, said his playing schedule for the rest of this year remained uncertain. Last week, a woman who claims to be one of Woods' mistresses released an embarrassing transcript of text messages she said he sent her. Woods admitted that four months of nearly nonstop public ridicule had caused him shame. “It was hurtful, but then again you know what, I did it,” he said. “I'm the one who did those things and looking back on it now with a more clear head, I get it.” Woods gave away little new information but was strong in condemnation of what he called his “disgusting behavior”. Woods made frequent reference to the treatment he is receiving but declined to confirm exactly what kind of rehabilitation he is undergoing, saying that it was “private”. He was also tightlipped about the details of the Nov. car accident that began the media frenzy around his marriage. “It's all in the police report,” he said. “Beyond that, everything's between Elin and myself and that's private.” Asked to define the state of his marriage to his Swedish wife, Woods said that too was private. “We're working on it and it's a process that will remain private between her and I,” he said. He did, however, look more comfortable and composed than he did last month, wearing golf clothes and smiling several times when talk turned to the Masters, a tournament he won four times. He resumed practicing with swing coach Hank Haney last week. He was more expansive when asked to discuss how his late father Earl would have reacted to his behavior. “He'd be very disappointed in me. We'd have numerous long talks. That's one of the things I miss, I miss his guidance, I wish I could have had his guidance through all this to have him help straighten me up. I know he would've done it. “I can't say on air (what he would have said) but he would've been very direct. Basically (he'd say), you need to get your life headed in the right direction again. “I was living a life of a lie, I really was. And I was doing a lot of things that hurt a lot of people. And stripping away denial and rationalisation you start coming to the truth of who you really are and that can be very ugly. “But then again, when you face it and you start conquering it and you start living up to it, the strength that I feel now. I've never felt that type of strength,” he said. Woods did not discuss details about his affairs, he was not asked about any of the women he has been linked with, but said that: “just one is enough and obviously that wasn't the case”.
