UNSHAVEN, scruffy and wearing a hoodie, disgraced
sports star Tiger Woods was photographed at a clinic for sex
addicts.
It is the first picture of the serial cheat since
his car crash two months ago.
In a far cry from his all-American clean-cut image,
the billionaire golfer looked unkempt as he strolled around the
grounds of the no-frills clinic on a Mississippi industrial
estate.
Woods, 34, is reportedly receiving six weeks rehab
there in an attempt to save his five-year marriage to Swedish model
Elin Nordegren, 30.
She is said to have asked her husband to undergo
treatment following allegations of a string of affairs.
She ditched her wedding ring after their row in
November, which culminated in Woods crashing his car into a tree
outside their Florida home. His private life then began to unravel
as at least a dozen women claimed affairs with the father of
two.
Woods went to ground but apologised on his website,
saying: “I have let my family down and I regret those
transgressions with all of my heart. I have not been true to my
values and the behaviour my family deserves.
“I am not without faults and I am far short of
perfect. I am dealing with my behaviour and personal failings
behind closed doors with my family.” He reportedly checked himself
into the Pine Grove Behavioural Health and Addiction Services
clinic, in the town of Hattiesburg, on December 30, his
birthday.
Its £37,000 Gentle Path programme is led by Dr
Patrick Carnes, one of America’s leading experts on sex
addiction.
His patients receive psychological testing, a
chemical dependency examination and a psychosexual
assessment.
Activities include meditation, group therapy,
spirituality meetings and yoga. Patients stay in small bungalows
and are divided into groups according to their problems.
Elin will be expected to take part in his therapy
sessions for a week. This includes “Disclosure Day,” when he will
be forced to face her and admit in detail each of his alleged
sexual dalliances. Woods has rented a luxury home for his wife near
the clinic, where she is staying with their daughter Sam, two, and
son Charlie, six months.
“Tiger has a rough road in there if he treats the
therapy seriously,” a source told National Enquirer
magazine.
“It’s designed to change patients’ personalities
and do away with the cause of their addictions.” Woods, who was
ditched by a number of high-profile sponsors after the scandal, is
said to be planning a comeback in the spring.
He hopes his treatment will show the public,
sponsors and his wife that he intends to reform.
Gentle Path’s statistics show that 64 per cent of
patients do not relapse within six months of leaving the
clinic.
