Woods spoke of devotion to family

TIGER WOODS spoke of his devotion to his wife and children in an interview recorded just days before the scandal surrounding his personal life broke.

Aired in New Zealand yesterday, the interview sees the troubled golfer asked: “Family first and golf second . . . always been that way?” to which he replies: “Always. Always.”

It was recorded on November 17th, just 10 days before he crashed his car into a fire hydrant and tree outside his home in Florida, an incident that was eventually to lead to his public shaming as a love cheat.

The billionaire sportsman went on to say that having children with wife Elin Nordegren “has been great, actually, the best thing that ever happened”. The interview was conducted in Melbourne where Woods was playing in the Australian Masters.

It was due to be aired over the Christmas holiday, but New Zealand’s Sky Sports screened it early due to the global interest surrounding his private life.

On Friday – two weeks after the early-hours accident – the golfer admitted an “infidelity”. It followed lurid allegations of affairs with almost a dozen women in US tabloids.

In a statement posted on his website, he said he intended to take an “indefinite break” from professional golf in order to become “a better husband, father and person”.

The statement led to movement from some of his most lucrative sponsors, with consultancy firm Accenture cutting ties with the shamed sportsman.

Shaving giant Gillette also distanced itself from Woods, while US phone company ATT and Swiss watchmakers Tag Heuer said it was still considering its options regarding contracts with the golfer.

It marks a dramatic fall from grace for golf’s golden boy.

In the New Zealand interview, he told of how he split his time between the game and his family life.

“I don’t practice as much as I used to. I don’t spend the amount of hours on the golf course, not like I used to,” he said, adding: “But my focus is so much more intense than it used to be. I know whatever I have done has to be done in a shorter amount of time.”