By Philip Sherwell in New York Published: 4:47PM GMT 12 Dec 2009  Privacy: In a statement released on his website on Friday night, the golfer, 33, admitted for the first time since the scandal broke two weeks ago that he had been unfaithful to his Swedish model wife Elin Nordegren Photo: REUTERS  Faglaro: In a statement released on his website on Friday night, the golfer, 33, admitted for the first time since the scandal broke two weeks ago that he had been unfaithful to his Swedish model wife Elin Nordegren Photo: GETTY  Troubled times: Tiger Woods has attracted intense media scrutiny Photo: REUTERS  What was clear was that, whatever the intentions of his wife, some of the corporate backers who made Woods into the first billion-dollar brand in sports history were no longer going to stand by their man after his spectacular fall from grace.  In a statement released on his website on Friday night, the golfer, 33, admitted for the first time since the scandal broke two weeks ago that he had beThe aen unfaithful to his Swedish model wife Elin Nordegren, 29, mother of their two young children.  "I want to say again to everyone that I am profoundly sorry and that I ask forgiveness," he said. "It may not be possible to repair the damage I've done, but I want to do my best to try...  "What's most important now is that my family has the time, privacy and safe haven we will need for personal healing."  He added: "I need to focus my attention on being a better husband, father and person."  His comments have fuelled reports that the family may set sail on his luxury yacht, Privacy, which was pictured being loaded in a Florida dock on Friday, or seek refuge in Miss Nordegren's homeland.  Swedish authorities yesterday confirmed that earlier this month she bought a six-bedroom house on an island off Stockholm for a reported $2.2 million. The island can only be reached by boat - making it an attractive haven as Woods tries to save his five-year marriage.  Meanwhile a leading addiction psychiatrist and celebrity publicist told The Sunday Telegraph that they believed Woods could seek help in a rehabilitation clinc for compulsive sexual behaviour.  The star has been linked with up to 13 women, including cocktail waitresses, a lingerie model, former porn actresses and most recently prostitutes. Just hours before he issued his statement, one alleged mistress, Jamie Junger, described how he slept with her in the family home near Orlando when his wife was away.  But even as Woods faced up to his philandering, his image and name disappeared this weekend from the website of the the financial services firm Accenture, one of his major sponsors.  The telephone giant AT&T was also re-thinking its ties to him. "We support Tiger's decision and our thoughts will be with him and his family," the company said. "We are presently evaluating our ongoing relationship with him."  Gillette said it was "limiting" Woods's role in marketing in order to "help preserve his privacy" and was believed to be negotiating a reduction in $20 million annual payment deal it struck with him in 2007. The Pepsi subsidiary Gatorade has already axed its $100 million, five-year deal after its Tiger-branded soft drink performed badly.  To the relief of Team Tiger, the notable exception so far is Nike, his biggest sponsor, which pays him $30 million annually to endorse its $800-million-a-year golf division. But the sports goods business also made clear that it hoped his costly absence from the sport would not last too long.  "Tiger has been part of Nike for more than a decade," a spokeswoman said. "He is the best golfer in the world and one of the greatest athletes of his era. We look forward to his return to golf. He and his family have Nike's full support."  His agent and friend Mark Steinberg had been frantically working all week to shore up the endorsement deals that earn his client about $100 million a year. But even he clearly acknowledged it had been a difficult challenge.  "Suffice it to say, we have had thoughtful conversations and his sponsors have been open to a solution-oriented dialogue," he said. "Of course, each sponsor has unique considerations and ultimately, the decisions they make we would fully understand and accept."  Television commercials featuring Woods have been absent from the screens since Nov 29, even as his serial cheating became a staple of evening talk shows and late-night comics.  Woods' decision is also a huge financial blow to the golf industry, which is already struggling from a loss of corporate sponsors. When he was out for eight months last year while recovering from reconstructive knee surgery, television ratings for golf dropped by half - with major knock-on effects for advertising.  Woods' belated admission of infidelity came at the end of a week of ever-worsening revelations about his rampant extra-marital affairs. "He has clearly been demonstrating reckless and sexual compulsive behaviour," said David McDowell, an addiction psychiatrist at New York's Columbia University.  "There are also reports that he was reliant on prescription painkillers and used sleeping pills during sex. In these sorts of out of control cases, he may well need to go into a treatment facility where he can receive help and the world will see he is addressing his problems."  Film stars such as Michael Douglas and David Duchovny are among the famous names who have sought help in rehab for sexual addiction in the past.  Howard Bragman, a celebrity publicist, also told The Sunday Telegraph that he believed Woods should consider treatment in rehab for potential sex addiction and prescription drug problems.  "This situation has transcended a public relations problem for Tiger," he said. "He has real issues to sort out with his family and about his life before he deals with the PR side of things."  Woods has not been seen seen he crashed his car into a tree and hydrant near his home in the early hours of Nov 27. He had reportedly rushed out of the mansion pursued by Miss Nordegren brandishing a golf club, following an angry row about his cheating.  Woods was released from hospital after treatment for cuts to his face.  But fresh controversy arose last week when it emerged that the state attorney's office denied a police request to subpoena his blood samples because they suspected he might have been drinking or taking pills.  Lurid revelations about Woods' infidelities, culminating with reports of threesomes with prostitutes, were accompanied by graphic and embarrassing text message exchanges in what has become the cyber era's equivalent of lipstick on the collar.  Nonetheless, friends of Miss Nordegren have said she wants to save marriage, not least as she is the child of divorce parents. There is also a financial motivation to remain married as her advisors have renegotiated the couple's prenuptial wedding agreement.  Woods offered no time frame for his break from the game - a hiatus that has put on hold his dream of winning another five majors to overtake Jack Nicklaus' current record of 18.  The most obvious dates for a quick comeback would be the Masters on the fabled Augusta course in April or the US Open in June. But after a saga that has unfolded with high-speed unpredictability, talking about dates is speculation for now.  The controversy has also raised questions about his likely mental state if and when he returns to the game. "He can win the US Open with a broken leg but I doubt he can win much with a broken psyche," said Brandel Chamblee, a former PGA golfer and now analyst on Golf Channel.
Tiger Woods was variously thought to be heading to sea, to Sweden or to sexual    addiction rehab on Saturday after his dramatic announcement of an indefinite    break from golf.