The disclosure came two weeks after a single-car accident near his Florida home led to the revelation of a long list of alleged mistresses, sullying the name of an athlete once upheld as a role model and the perfect pitchman for corporations wanting to enhance their brand.
Writing under his own name on his website, Woods pleaded for privacy and said he needed to take time away from the game in an attempt to save his marriage to Elin Nordegren, the mother of his two young children.
Woods returned to professional golf in the 2010 Masters, and finalised his divorce in August of that year.
