In his first public appearance since details of his multiple extra-marital affairs began unraveling, a red-eyed Tiger Woods delivered a statement in front of a hand-picked audience Friday morning.

Woods, who has not been seen or heard from since late November, appeared at the TPC Sawgrass golf course in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. The event aired opposite the World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship, which has been going on since Wednesday in Arizona. Accenture is one of the sponsors that has dropped Woods in recent months.

Here are a few highlights:

“I’m also aware of the pain my behavior has caused here in this room I have let you down and I’ve let down my fans.”
“I felt I could get away with what I wanted to. I felt I had worked hard in my life and deserved all the temptations around me … I was wrong. I was foolish. I don’t get to play by different rules.”
“It’s now time for me to make amends … It’s time for me to start living a life of integrity.”

Woods’ voice rose when he referred to speculation that his Nov. 27 car accident was caused by domestic violence: “It angers me that people would fabricate a story like that. [My wife] Elin never hit me that night or any night. There has never been an episode of domestic violence. Ever.”

He also addressed his possible return to golf, saying he does plan on playing again but does not know when: “I won’t rule out returning this year. When I return I need to make my behavior more respectful of the game.”

The general sentiment from PR and crisis communication professionals in the area is that Woods did well in fully taking responsibility for his actions.

“This was sort of the mother of ‘mea culpas’ in length and detail and self flagellation,” said Susan Goodell, senior director at Warschawski, a public relations firm in Baltimore.

But it was only a job half-well done. The resounding chorus from professionals is that Woods is prolonging his negative image by refusing to take questions from the media.

“Without taking questions and really orchestrating it and limiting media members in there, it reeks of control and insincerity,” said John Maroon, president of Maroon PR in Marriottsville. “If you’re going to fall on the sword, fall on it completely.”

On the one hand, both said they were generally surprised Woods spoke about as much as he did (his return to golf, domestic violence, his renewed interest in his Buddhist faith, and he even thanked PGA players and Accenture for “understanding” why he chose to make his announcement Friday).

But on the other hand, they said, the statement gives Woods an excuse not to give the public any more. By addressing some things and not addressing others by saying they are private, Woods’ statement acts as a cover-all, Goodell said.

Maroon said the fact that Woods will not answer questions is overshadowing the fact that he apologized. He said while a traditional news conference on Friday could have been a wild free-for-all, following it up with a sit-down interview with a news organization could have nipped this in the bud.

“Then you can probably move on,” he said. “At some point he’s going to have to answer some questions if he wants to rebuild his brand.”

Levi Rabinowitz, a local crisis communications expert, said the format of Friday’s event was one that he never would have advised a client to take. Because of the worldwide interest in the golfer and this scandal, controlling the number of people allowed makes sense to a degree, he said. But limiting it to a few media outlets and not taking questions is taking it too far.

“There were questions [you] could have asked the media to confine themselves to,” he said.

Woods may have apologized but his actions speak louder, Rabinowitz said.

“The contradictions are profoundly communicative,” he said. “His message is in the controlling way he conducted his message … Taking responsibility is changing your behavior — from this event to today, his behavior has not changed.”

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There’s no need to rehash the Tiger Woods saga of the last two weeks — unless you’ve been living under a rock since Thanksgiving, you know about the golf pro’s transgressions that have been causing a media circus for 14 days and counting.

But since we’re all about the money here, I will rehash what’s been going on with Woods’ sponsors. Early on in Tigergate, a handful of his sponsors including Nike, Procter & Gamble’s Gillette and videogame maker EA Sports came out with statements of support for Woods and said their thoughts were with his family.

But then came the parade of mistresses. At last count there were at least seven but that still appears to be a growing figure. And along with that, sponsors have fallen silent. Well, all except for PepsiCo, which claims its recent decision to drop a Gatorade product named for Wood’s wasn’t related to the scandal.

Riiiiight.

I talked to Baltimore ad firm TBC‘s Howe Burch this week about the potential sponsor fallout from Tigergate and he says this is only the beginning. Burch takes issue with those who say Woods’ transgressions have made him seem more human.

“I find that to be a misguided perspective on the whole thing,” said Burch, a former marketing executive with Fila and Reebok. “Tiger was affiliated with big blue chip brands and any brand that is successful is built on a foundation of trust…Tiger has violated their trust. They did not sign up for someone who is duplicitous.”

Burch said other examples this year like Michael Phelps getting caught smoking pot or Louisville basketball coach Rick Pitino admitting to an affair don’t even come close to the damage Woods is causing to his once-untouchable image.

“[Phelps] certainly violated that trust with his sponsors but not nearly to the egregious extent that Tiger did,” he said. “Tiger has been unfaithful but not as a single instance. There’s a pattern here of purportedly nine or 10 girlfriends over 10 years marriage. It’s not as if he made a mistake — the guy has…violated his marriage vows. I think that’s a lot more sacred than a 23-year-old kid who gets caught doing what a lot of other 23-year-old kids do.”

USA Today reported this week that no commercials featuring Woods have appeared on prime-time TV — cable or broadcast — since two days after Woods’ accident. The last commercial was a 30-second Gillette spot featuring Woods and New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter and aired during NBC’s Sunday Night Football. Before the incident, that commercial had aired eight times in November alone.

Burch also noted the argument can be made that Woods’ sponsors who make men’s products will stick by the golfer because their market may not find his transgressions as offensive as others. However, he said, guess who does most of the shopping for men? Yup — women.

“My wife was a big Tiger fan and she is absolutely disgusted by his behavior and doesn’t want to have anything to do with him or a brand he represents,” Burch said. “I think people need to be more aware it’s not just men who need to be considered.”

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So…is it hard to clean greasy buffalo wing sauce off of Waterford crystal? It’s a question the Constellation Energy Senior Players Championship promoters may find the answer to while they’re schlepping the tournament trophy through eight of Baltimore’s finest restaurants this week.

The Sam Snead Trophy, named for the player with the most wins in PGA Tour history, is comprised of two hand-carved pieces of Waterford crystal, etched with 18 greens and numbered flags.

And if you’re thinking “Whoop-de-do, why do I need to see a trophy up close?” here’s a monetary incentive: tickets for the tournament (which range in cost from $20 to $165) will be sold to restaurant patrons for a 25 percent discount.

Here’s the schedule:

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The tournament, which is the Champions Tour’s fifth and final major of the year, will be played at the Baltimore Country Club in Timonium from Sept. 28 – Oct. 4.

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Well, the cut Nike’s missing out on is the cash from sales boosts the company was expecting to see after dressing Tiger Woods in the trendiest of Nike golf gear this weekend.

Last week I wrote a post about how apparel companies actually have clothing scripts for some of their top golfers. The idea is, they figure why not put those hours of television coverage to good use and tell their golfers what to wear so they can plan to coordinate those items with their store inventories?

It sounds like a pretty good plan and almost foolproof — after all, it’s not like a great like Tiger Woods won’t make it past the second round and into the weekend coverage? Right?

Wrong.

For the first time in three years Woods didn’t make it to weekend play, and the world’s No. 1 player missed the cut Friday at the British Open, shooting a 4-over 74 at Turnberry.

I guess that’s the gamble you take if you’re Nike…hopefully they didn’t overload their inventory too much with the clothing Woods was expected to wear this weekend. But if they did, count it as a win for the consumer because you may see it on sale soon…

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This week, the Constellation Energy Senior Players Championship announced its “Tickets Fore Charity” campaign in which local charities can sell tickets and keep 75 percent of the proceeds while the remaining 25 percent goes to the tournament’s local charitable donation.

It’s an age-old practice (selling Girl Scout cookies as a kid comes to mind), but the concept is new to the annual PGA seniors tour stop at the Baltimore Country Club. And when faced with an economy that’s seeing declines in both spending on sporting events and charitable contributions, this fund raising campaign is getting two birds with one stone.

First Tee of Baltimore, however, will be the only charity benefiting from that 25 percent of charity ticket sales. In the past, First Tee, the Kennedy Krieger Institute, Union Memorial Hospital and the Baltimore Community Foundation have each typically received $100,000 annually from the tournament since the pros began playing here in 2007.

According to Steve Schoenfeld, the tournament director,  the other charities are all still aligned with the tournament as beneficiaries.

“We chose to include The First Tee for the 25% share of the TICKETS Fore CHARITY program because it was a PGA TOUR initiative that founded The First Tee years ago and it is near and dear to our business (obviously),” Schoenfeld wrote in an e-mail. “In fact, The First Tee is tied in to the TICKETS Fore CHARITY program at all of the events that Championship Management…runs.”

OK, I understand that. But if I’m working for one of the other charities, I see a recession that’s both taking a toll on charitable donations nationally and slowing spending at sporting events — and I’m wondering how much the golf tournament will still be able to help out with its donation this year.

Seems like this program would be a good opportunity for those charities to both try and make up the difference and help themselves by boosting ticket sales (and thus attendance and spending at the event) by participating in the fundraiser, too.

And in the end if it all comes out in the wash as “CEG Senior Players Championship matches ticket sales and charitable contribution from last year, despite a down economy,” well that’s why they call it a win-win, isn’t it?

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I’m probably the last person who needs to be told sporting events today are about WAY more than what’s happening on the field.

I never thought I would see this phrase in an article about Tiger Woods and other top golfers: “…he will undoubtedly wear white pants and a blue shirt with a white piping stripe, according to the clothing script provided to him…”

Ugh. I expect this from tennis. But golf? It’s pants and a polo, for crying out loud!

Fashion’s not my thing — but can I appreciate marketers seizing an opportunity and milking it for all it’s worth? Absolutely. And apparently, that is what’s going on with the PGA Tour and golfers Woods, Sergio Garcia, Lucas Glover and Kenny Perry.

With these guys on television for hours, their apparel sponsors have started telling them what to wear and coordinating the timing with new clothing releases in their retail stores.

“What Woods wears each day at every major championship this year has been scripted for him by his sponsor Nike since last summer,” wrote the New York Times. “To ensure that retailers have a new design or color modeled by Woods on their shelves this weekend, Nike had its first meetings about Woods’s 2009 British Open wardrobe 17 months ago.”

The same goes for the other guys. On Saturday at the British Open, Garcia will wear the white pants and blue shirt with white piping by Adidas, Perry a navy plaid print shirt and light khaki pants by Adidas and Glover will sport a bright yellow Nike shirt with gray pants.

“A single shirt worn by one of our athletes on a Sunday afternoon winning a tournament can raise sales 10 percent,” Tiss Dahan, senior director of global apparel at Adidas Golf, told the Times.

Pretty impressive. And since sports and fashion are two of the biggest money-making industries in the country, it’s something that was bound to happen.

But can we draw the line there? I don’t want to think about the implications of skin care products also getting in on the fun on the fairway. If I ever see Tiger Woods pull out a bottle of Olay sunscreen and start re-applying, I’m turning the channel.

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I bet you didn’t know that some of the top women golfers in the country have made their way to the Baltimore area for the NCAA D1 Women’s Golf Championships. The event kicks off tomorrow at renowned Caves Valley Golf Club in Owings Mills.

I spent part of the day yesterday at the course scoping out the favorite – Arizona State – during their practice round. Little did I know that I would be the only media member, let alone spectator, on the entire course.

The tournament hasn’t been well publicized and isn’t the kind of NCAA money-maker that basketball and football are.

Nevertheless, Caves Valley is in spectacular condition and should be a difficult test.

After taking a good look at the course and how a number of the teams were playing some of the holes, I think this is going to be one long week. There are only four birdie holes on the entire course (2, 10, 14 and 17), so don’t expect many players to go low.

If you want to have a unique opportunity and watch the likes of reigning US Women’s Amateur champion Amanda Blumenherst (Duke) before she turns professional, this week is the week to do it. For ticket information, call 202-784-4979.

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Golf World, one of the country’s most prominent golf newsweeklies, released its first annual Readers’ Choice Awards.

Awards were given to the top 50 public, private and resort courses in the country based on criteria such as the quality of the course, condition, reputation/prestige, service and caddie program.

Two Maryland courses made the lists—and they’re not Congressional Country Club and Baltimore CC.

Bulle Rock in Havre de Grace was ranked by readers as the 9th-best public course in the country, and Caves Valley Golf Club (pictured above) in Owings Mills got the 36th spot for top private course.

Even if you find many of these course rankings unimportant (trust me, I do sometimes), you have to realize that this is a big deal for Bulle Rock and Caves Valley.

Let’s start with Bulle Rock. They have hosted the McDonald’s LPGA Championship the past four years, and now it looks like the LPGA will bail on the site after next year. Poor attendance and a decrease in charitable donations spelled the end for the course. I’m sure there are plenty of locals wondering how Bulle Rock is seen by others outside of the mid-Atlantic, and the ranking says a lot.

As for Caves Valley, we haven’t heard much about the course since the 2002 US Senior Open. Despite strong crowds and a thrilling finish between Tom Watson and Don Pooley, the course was seen by many players as a drag to walk. Even at the NCAA Championships in 2005, several of the college golfers I spoke to said it was a lovely course, but too many steep climbs and long walks between holes tired them out.

I expect both venues will actively pursue major tournaments in the near future, and these rankings should provide a boost.

RICHARD SIMON, Multimedia Reporter

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Competition abounded last week and weekend at the Constellation Energy Senior Players Championship — and it wasn’t just on the golf course.

Tournament director Steve Schoenfeld said ticket sales were down about 2 to 3 percent this year compared to 2007, but said the number of people who came during the four days actually seemed like less (according to Schoenfeld it is PGA policy not to release the tournament’s final figures). He attributed the slight dip in sales to the economy but said the actual attendance numbers were more likely a result of scheduling conflicts.

“You had the [Yom Kippur] holiday last Thursday and Columbus Day today, and I think a lot of people took that opportunity to travel and make it a five-day weekend,” Schoenfeld said Monday. “Accompanied with the fact that the Ravens were playing at 1 p.m. Sunday, even though they were on the road, I think that may have kept people at home, too.”

He said having fewer people attend the tournament even though those tickets were sold still makes a difference “because more people brings more excitement, and that’s want we want to do.”

Overall though, he said the week-long event (including the two Pro-Am days) went well from an operational perspective and considering the tight purse strings of many corporations this year. As for Constellation’s impending buyout by MidAmerican Energy Holdings Co. and who will have the title naming rights to the championship next year, Schoenfeld said “it’s kind of a ‘wait and see’ with us.”

As for the actual play on the course, competition was tighter this year with D.A. Weibring finishing at nine under par and beating out Maryland native Fred Funk (shown on the 18th fairway) by one shot. Loren Roberts, who won last year’s championship by five strokes, finished in 21st place at even par.

The play may have been more exciting this year but do you think this year’s should be a warning sign for next year?

LIZ FARMER, Business Writer

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The golf pros are vying for a $390,000 grand prize. Local charities hope to benefit to the tune of $100,000 each. Corporations and businesses are shelling out anywhere from $850 to $82,000 to catch the eye of thousands of spectators.

But arguably the biggest winner of the Constellation Energy Senior Players Tournament — financially anyway — is the Baltimore region.

“Viewing this program [on television], you hear Baltimore, Baltimore, Baltimore,” said Nancy Hinds, vice president of public affairs of the Baltimore Area Convention & Visitors Association. “You can’t even put a financial dollar value on it… It’s hours and hours worth of exposure that the cost of advertising for would be in the millions and millions, and we could never afford to pay for that.”

The festivities officially begin today with the Bechtel Power Grand Champions Pro-Am tournament and championship play is Thursday through Sunday. Televised from the Baltimore Country Club in Timonium on the GOLF channel and NBC for nine hours over four days, Hinds said the cutaway shots of the country club, Baltimore City and the audio mentions promote the area as a tourist destination.

“Every time a national network covers a sporting event in Baltimore and Baltimore is on the national stage, it just makes people tune in and take notice that these events are here,” she said. “People will want to visit a city that’s exciting and new and happening.”

Does national exposure like this make residents proud to call Baltimore their hometown? Or do you just see the road closures and television vans as a hindrance to your daily life?

LIZ FARMER, Business Writer

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