Tiger Woods said his relationship with his ex-wife is “great” and that he has taken steps to explain to his two children what happened in his marriage.
In a rare, wide-ranging interview with Time magazine, Woods offered the same thoughts about the future he did Tuesday at a tournament he’s playing in the Bahamas. He still wants to play golf at the highest level but accepts that might not be possible if nerve damage in his back prevents that.
The former world number one player was interviewed by Canadian golf writer Lorne Rubinstein at Woods’ new restaurant in Florida. They discussed a wide range of topics, from his greatest joy on the golf course to playing with Seve Ballesteros and his family.
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Woods turns 40 in December. The 30-year-old reportedly told his sons Sam, 8, and Charlie, 6, that their parents don’t live in the same house because “Daddy made a mistake.”
“I want my kids to understand that before they log on to anything in the internet age or have their friends tell them anything,” Woods said. “I want to tell them and then when they’re adults, I want them to have the real story.” “So that’s part of the effort: ‘Hey, this is my fault too. I was bad.’ So I’m proactive with my kids,” he said. “I’d rather have it come from me as the source. And I can tell them absolutely everything so they hear it from me.”
In the meantime, Woods said he is stressing to his children that they have two parents who love them. His marriage ended in late 2009 after a number of extramarital affairs were revealed, and he and Elin Nordegren divorced in August the following year. Woods injured his foot in 2011 and returned to the world number one spot with eight wins in 2012 and 2013, but has been in free fall since then with a back injury. He had surgery to repair a pinched nerve a week before the 2014 Masters and has had two more surgeries in the same area in the past three months.
“First of all, I don’t want to have any more surgeries,” Woods told the magazine. “And secondly, even if I never come back to play anymore, I want to have a quality life with my kids. I started to lose that after my other surgeries.”
When asked how he would have acted before and after the scandal in his personal life, Woods said he would have had a more open and honest relationship with his wife. “It’s great to have the relationship I have with her,” he said. “She’s one of my best friends. We can pick up the phone and talk to each other any time we want, we both know that the most important thing in life is our children. I wish I’d known then.
When Woods last played on Aug. 23, he was tied for 10th and wondered if the pain he was feeling was coming from his lower back. In reality, his back problems were simply recurring, and the uncertainty surrounding his health has led to speculation that his career may be over. “That being said, it’s not something I want or intend to happen,” Woods said. “But if that’s the case, then that’s the case. I’ve agreed with that.”
Woods reiterated that the Jack Nicklaus graph he had on his bedroom wall as a child had nothing to do with his 18 major wins. It was a question of age: Nicklaus broke 40 for the first time, broke 80, won his first golf tournament, his first state amateur, his first U.S. Amateur and his first state championship.