• PGA Tour

Apologetic Woods targets Masters win

Ahead of his golfing return at the Masters on Thursday, Tiger Woods apologised to his fellow professionals for the media "bombardment" they suffered as a result of his infidelities.

"The players have been bombarded by questions and I'd like to apologise to them for what they've had to endure over the past few months," Woods said.

Woods, who was giving his first press conference since he put his career on hold following a series of scandals, stated that he believed he could win the Masters despite five months away from competitive action. "Nothing's changed, I'll still go out to win this thing," he said.

Woods also praised the "incredible" reaction he received from the fans during his practice round at Augusta on Monday. "Coming into today I didn't know what to expect with regard to reception," he said.

"The galleries couldn't have been nicer, it was just incredible, the encouragement I got. It blew me away, it really did. Today touched my heart."

The world No. 1 vowed to be less irritable on the golf course when he makes his comeback. "I'm not going to get as hot, or as exuberant either," he said. "I have made a conscious decision to try and tone down my negative outbursts.

"I will be more respectful of the game, and acknowledge the fans, and show my appreciation for them. I haven't done that in the past few years and that was wrong of me."

Woods went on to echo the sentiments he expressed in his February statement, insisting that he feels deep regret about his extra-marital affairs. "I fooled myself, I lied to a lot of people, deceived a lot of people, kept others in the dark, lied to myself. When you strip all that away, you start realising what you've done, the full magnitude of what I've done is pretty brutal and I take full responsibility," he said.

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