Tiger Woods on Friday issued a grovelling public apology for repeatedly cheating on his wife and admitted: "I have let you all down."
In one of the most extraordinary mea culpas ever by a public figure, the top golfer begged for forgiveness as he pledged to start a new life of "integrity".
Speaking publicly for the first time since allegations of affairs with at least 12 women emerged, Woods admitted he had bitterly disappointed his family, friends and fans.
The 34-year-old said he had thought he could get away with anything and 'deserved to enjoy all the temptations' around him because of his huge success as a sportstar.
And he leapt to his wife Elin's defence, insisting she had never attacked him and should be praised for her 'grace and poise' over the last three months.
"I know I have bitterly disappointed all of you. I have made you question who I am and how I could have done the things I did. I am embarrassed I have put you in this position. For all I have done, I am so sorry. I have a lot to atone for,"
he said.
In a brief break from his treatment for sex addiction, Woods gave a carefully stage-managed speech at the Sawgrass Golf Club, the home of the PGA Tour, in Florida.
The world's press had descended on the club, but only one camera and reporters from three agencies were allowed inside the building.
The rest of the audience was made up of his family, friends and colleagues - but not his wife - while millions across the US and the world watched the statement live.
On the front row was Woods' beloved mother Tida, who hugged and kissed him after his at times gut-wrenching, 13-and-a-half minute address.
Wearing a black jacket and open-neck shirt, the golfer battled to avoid crying as he admitted: "I was unfaithful, I had affairs, I cheated."
"I want to say to each of you simply and directly: I am deeply sorry for the irresponsible and selfish behaviour I engaged in."
He described his actions as "selfish" and "foolish" as he cast off years of closely-guarded privacy to talk candidly about his personal life.
"People want to know how I could have done these things to my wife Elin and my children," he said.
"I have let you down. I have let down my fans. For many of you, especially my friends, my behaviour has been a personal disappointment. For those of you who work for me, I have let you down personally and professionally."
Woods has been in hiding since November 27, after the mystery car crash outside his multi-million home in Florida in the middle of the night.
It was allegedly sparked by a fierce row with his wife Elin after she realised he had cheated on her.
There were sensational claims at the time that she chased after him with a golf club, prompting him to smash his Cadillac 4x4 into a tree and then a fire hydrant.
In the days and weeks that followed, he was linked to at least 12 women - including two porn stars.
But on Friday, Woods vehemently denied his wife, a former Swedish model and nanny, had ever attacked him.
"Elin never hit me that night or any other night. There has never been an episode of domestic violence in our marriage, ever," he said.
"Elin has shown immense grace and poise throughout this ordeal. Elin deserves praise not blame. The issue involved here was my repeated irresponsible behaviour.
"I was unfaithful, I had affairs, I cheated. What I did was not acceptable and I am the only person to blame. 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 did not apply.
"I never thought about who I was hurting. Instead, I thought only about myself. I ran straight through the boundaries that a married couple should live by - I thought I could get away with everything I wanted to.
"I felt that I had worked hard my entire life and deserved to enjoy all the temptations around me. I felt I was entitled. Thanks to money and fame, I did not have to go far to find them.
"I was wrong, I was foolish, I don't get to play by different rules. The same boundaries that apply to everyone apply to me. I brought this shame on myself, I hurt my wife, my kids, my mother, my wife's family, my friends, my foundation and kids all around the world who admired me."
He continued: "I have had a lot of time to think about what I have done. My failures have made me look at myself in a way I never wanted to before. It is now up to me to make amends and that starts by never repeating the mistakes I have made. It is up to me to start living a life of integrity.
"Achievements on the golf course are only part of setting an example. Character and decency are what really count. Parents used to point to me as a role model for their kids. I owe all those families a special apology. I want to say to them I am truly sorry."
Of his efforts to repair his marriage, he said: "As Elin pointed out to me, my real apology to her will not come in the form of words. It will come from my behaviour over time. We have a lot to discuss."
He did not give a date for when he might return to golf, although he said it could be sometime later this year.
"I do plan to return to golf one day, I just don't know when that day will be. I don't rule out that it will be this year. When I do return, I need to make my behaviour more respectful of the game," he said.
And he told how he had already spent 45 days in therapy as an inpatient "for the issues I am facing". He is due to return for more therapy for sex addiction tomorrow.
He said his Buddhist faith would help him to "be a better man" and "stop following every impulse and to learn restraint".
"It's hard to admit that I need help, but I do.... I have a long way to go but I am taking my first steps in the right direction. I owe it to my family to become a better person - I owe it to those close to me to become a better man. That is what my focus will be. I have a lot of work to do and I intend to commit myself to doing it."
He added: "I need to regain my balance and be centred so that I can save the things that are the most important to me - my marriage and my children."
He refused to give details of how many times he was unfaithful or any details about his affairs, insisting this was between him and his wife.
And he begged for Elin and his children, a young son and daughter, to be left alone.
He also categorically denied using performance enhancing drugs, saying: "This is completely and utterly false."
At the end of his prepared address, he spoke to all those who used to have faith in him and said: "I ask you to find room in your heart to one day believe in me again."
But even as he was attempting to draw a line under the damaging episode that has cast a huge shadow over his career, one of his alleged mistresses porn star Joslyn James was giving her own press conference.
James, who claims she had a three-year fling with the golfer, weapt as she appeared at a radio station.
Woods announced in December that he was taking an indefinite break from the game after admitting "indiscretions" in a statement on his website.
The revelations have already cost him lucrative sponsorship deals and has stretched his marriage to the limit.
Elin is now believed to have put a divorce on hold after he agreed to seek help for his sex addiction.
Friday's conference was part of a careful attempt to rehabilitate Woods' image and reintroduce him to the sport.
Two sets of pictures of the star were released this week ahead of the appearance as he returns to the public eye.
The first, on Wednesday, showed him going for a jog with his personal trainer.
And on Thursday, he was seen getting back into the swing of things as he practiced near to his 1.7-million pound home in Windermere, Florida.
He was shown wearing his sponsor Nike's jumper and a personalised Nike cap decorated with his TW logo.
His wife also seems to have been giving him her support after stepping out on Thursday also in Nike clothing.
Nordegren wore a white bandana, grey top and black sweat pants all made by the label.
Even her training shoes were made by the sports giant who have a fiver year sponsorship deal with Woods said to be worth more than 30-million pound.
She was, however, not wearing her wedding ring.
Friday's statement sparked anger on the golf circuit, even before it was made, because it came in the middle of the Accenture Match Play Championship in Arizona.
Ernie Els said: "It is selfish, and you can write that. I feel sorry for the sponsors. Mondays are a good day to make statements, not Fridays. This takes a lot away from the golf tournament."
Accenture was the first sponsor to drop Woods after the scandal, with some observers suggesting his move to hijack the competition could be his subtle from of revenge.
But according to PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem explaining the date of the statement, there was little choice because of Woods' ongoing therapy.
Meanwhile, Donald Trump, a friend of Woods, said he should say "bye bye" to his marriage and be a "wonderful playboy".
The American businessman, who has been married three times, said: "I have a whole question as to whether they should even get back together. It's so damaged and if the reports are just half true I would recommend Tiger just call it a bad experience, say bye-bye, go out and be a wonderful playboy and win tournaments and have a good life.
"I think the whole concept of them getting together is not in the best interest necessarily of either one. It's so badly damaged that every time they have a little argument she's going to look at him with blood pouring out of her eyes.
"I think the best thing he can do is go on his way, work hard on his game, win major championships and other championships and continue to be maybe the best golfer that ever lived."
Trump added that Woods should have spoken out far earlier and attacked his management for Friday's carefully-staged affair.
"The most important thing Tiger can do is get back on the golf course and win. This whole thing with sex rehabilitation, I'm not sure I'm a believer..." he said.
"Tiger will never again make the kind of money he was making because these great companies are probably never coming back no matter what happens.
"Tiger will hopefully be the greatest golfer ever again. I think the main thing is that he plays great golf and wins major championships. If he does that then not all of it is going to be forgotten, but a lot of it will be."
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