Tiger's return on hold as he continues therapy

WHISTLER, British Columbia (Reuters) - The golf world on Friday learned only part of what it wanted to know from Tiger Woods, the sport's leading player and biggest draw -- he intends to come back, but did not say when.

The 14-times major champion had been widely expected to disclose details of his PGA Tour comeback when he issued a public apology in Florida for his marital infidelity.

American Woods, the most marketable figure in sports, took an indefinite break from golf when his private life spectacularly unravelled after a bizarre car accident in late November and multiple allegations of extra-marital affairs.

"I do plan to return to golf one day, I just don't know when that day will be," the 34-year-old said at the PGA Tour's headquarters in his first public appearance in three months.

"I don't rule out that it will be this year. When I do return, I need to make my behaviour more respectful of the game."

Woods, who has not competed since his victory at the Australian Masters on November 15, said he had undergone 45 days of therapy and would return on Saturday to a treatment centre where he still had "a long way to go."

Sponsors and organizers have been counting the days before the world number one's return. The absence of Woods from events where he usually plays has generally driven down television ratings by 50 percent.

PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem, who was among those attending Friday's announcement in Ponte Vedra Beach, pledged his support for Woods.

"We're supportive of whenever he comes back, whether it's three weeks from now or three months from now," Finchem told reporters. "He will play when he's ready and when he thinks he can compete.

"He has prioritized clearly over the last three months getting to a certain point in the issues he's dealing with before he wants to take that step. Only he can make that decision. I have no timeline in my own mind as to when that would be."

WOODS DISTRACTION

Asked how the Tour would cope in the absence of its most marketable player, Finchem replied: "The focus on the issues surrounding his leaving is a distraction to the game, there's no question about it.

"The tournaments he (usually) plays in obviously that increases the revenue significantly ... he's the number one player in the game and it just brings a lot of attention to the sport to have the number one player involved.

"But we're performing well, as well as we did in '08 when he was out with his injuries," added Finchem, referring to the eight months Woods spent on the sidelines while recovering from reconstructive knee surgery.

Golf fans had speculated Woods might make his return at any of three PGA Tour events in the coming months.

First up is the March 11-14 WGC-CA Championship at Doral followed by the March 25-28 Arnold Palmer Invitational in Orlando and the April 8-11 Masters, the opening major of the year.

The four major championships have been the driving force of Woods' career and ideally he would want to have at least one tournament under his belt before he tees off at Augusta National in pursuit of a fifth green jacket.

For the moment, though, his primary focus will be on his therapy, a phase of his life backed by his peers competing at this week's WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship in Arizona.

"It sounds like it's part of the recovery or the healing process that he has to go through," fellow American and British Open champion Stewart Cink told reporters.

"I've got a couple of good friends at home who have gone through the alcohol abuse program ... where you have to make amends to the people you've hurt and you have to start the bridge to the other side. And I think that's where Tiger is.

"It sounded heartfelt to me," Cink said of Woods' public apology. "For a guy who's done a lot of tough things in golf over the years, it was probably one of the most difficult things he's ever had to do."

British golfer Luke Donald said: "I think it was a sincere apology. Hopefully he'll get the help he needs and he'll be back on Tour whenever he's better."

(Additional reporting by Tim Gaynor in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida; Editing by Vicki Allen)