Plenty of questions left unanswered by Woods

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Tiger Woods said he plans to return to golf one day, but isn't sure when that day will be.

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. -- Here's what we know after Tiger Woods' first public appearance since he crashed his SUV in the early-morning hours after Thanksgiving and subsequently admitted to a series of extramarital affairs:

• He is "deeply sorry" for his "irresponsible and selfish" behavior.

• He spent the last 45 days from the end of December until early February in inpatient therapy.

• He will return to therapy Saturday and return to golf "one day."

With the exception of confirming that he has in fact been in rehab and specifying the number of days, that's not a whole lot more than we already knew. But as friend and former college teammate Notah Begay III said, an appearance of some sort was necessary by Woods, even if it involved not answering any questions.

"He had to do it in his own way," Begay said. "That's how he's always done things, for good, bad or indifferent. He does what he feels is appropriate."

Doing it his way, by Woods' own admission, though, is what got him into this situation.

"I have a lot to atone for. I was unfaithful. I had affairs. I cheated. I knew my actions were wrong, but I convinced myself that normal rules didn't apply," Woods said to the select gathering of family, friends, associates and three wire-service reporters gathered in the TPC Sawgrass clubhouse. Among the group were Begay, PGA TOUR Commissioner Tim Finchem and Tiger's mother, Tida. "I felt that I had worked hard my entire life and deserved to enjoy all the temptations around me. I was wrong. I don't get to play by different rules."

Friday, the rules were clear. There would be no questions asked in what was a 15-minute speech by Woods. Down the street, in the TPC Sawgrass Marriott, meanwhile, approximately 300 members of the media assembled to watch Woods on television. Some came from as far away as Australia. It was scene that can best be described as surreal.

"The format of not taking questions, everybody has an opinion on that," Finchem said. "Candidly, what else do we need to know at this point?"

A lot, actually, but it's a fair point by the Commissioner. After all, what goes on with Woods and his wife is their business and Woods made that emphatically clear.

"Some people have made up things that never happened," said Woods. "I still believe it is right to shield my family from the public spotlight. They did not do these things; I did. Whatever my wrongdoings, please leave my wife and kids alone."

As for the pressing question of when Woods will return to the golf course, that went largely unanswered. If this were part of a 12-step process, you got the feeling listening to Woods that he was on step 2 or 3.

"I do plan to return to golf one day, I just don't know when that day will be," Woods said.

In a press conference with the media about an hour after Woods concluded, the Commissioner didn't seem to have any more knowledge of a return date for Woods than anyone else in the room. At least he didn't let on that he did.

"What hit me is that he is making progress. That's very, very good news," Finchem said.

"The important thing is that I was excited about the notion that he was going to take a step that conceivably could lead to [his] return, and to lead to a point in time where he was comfortable in making enough progress with the issues he's faced with to be able to return."

Progress, yes. How much? Who knows. Only Woods and his support team do. Clearly, though, this was one of the first of what appears to be many steps back. When Woods will complete his comeback -- he did not rule out this season -- Woods himself may not even know.

"My sense is that he will play when he's ready and when he thinks he can compete," said Finchem, who spoke with Woods privately prior to his statement being read, but not after. "When he's prepared to do that, I'm sure he'll let us know."

As for the impact of Woods' absence from the game, there aren't any direct short-term implications -- meaning in the next year or two -- but the real impact, as Finchem said, is a longer-term one as it relates to overall television ratings for the TOUR.

"When he was out with an injury in 2008, we had a record year financially both with respect to prize money and dollars to charity," Finchem said. "However, he does generate a significant increase in the overall interest in the sport."

That interest was certainly peaked Friday morning when Woods arrived at the clubhouse at approximately 10:15 in a three-car motorcade that pulled into the back entrance of TPC Sawgrass and parked in the cart facility underneath the building.

He then made his way inside and continued the long process of healing and making amends. When Woods concluded his speech, he hugged his mother in a way that was reminiscent of an embrace he shared with caddie Steve Williams following his 2006 British Open victory that came less than three months after the passing of his father, Earl.

Woods left shortly thereafter, driving out the front gate of TPC Sawgrass in a separate car, while the other vehicles he arrived in departed from the rear of the club.

Next stop? Rehab. Beyond that, it's still wait-and-see.