MARANA, Ariz. - Ernie Els nailed this one. He was on target. Tiger Woods only would be on cue. Only acting out a carefully staged production.

Only telling us how he made mistakes. And telling us during the golf tournament in which Els was playing before he got eliminated.

Which is why Els nailed this one. And nailed Tiger, figuratively that is. Said on the record what many of Els fellow golf pros were saying in private.

What Tiger did, or his advisors did, setting up his announcement this morning, when one of the world golf championships was underway, was petty. Was unacceptable. Was "selfish."

"You can write that," Els said before losing in the second round of the match play championship Thursday, 1 up on the second extra hole to fellow South African, Retief Goosen.

"I feel sorry for the sponsor," said Els. "Mondays are a good day to make statements, not Friday. This takes a lot away from the golf tournament."

Tiger didn't care. The way Tiger didn't care about marital fidelity. Or about trying to say he was sorry. Until this morning. Until prompted by the boys who have so much invested in him, mainly Nike. He'd been away from golf for three months. Been away from shilling for Nike for three months.

The match play, at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club in the foothills above Tucson, is sponsored by Accenture, the consulting company; the same Accenture which used Tiger as its identification, its affiliation. The same Accenture which was the first corporation to drop Tiger when the stories broke of his sordid private life.

Tiger holds grudges. Forever. Tiger holds the fate of professional golf in his grasp. No Tiger, and the interest declines and the ratings fall and the ticket sales tumble.

So PGA Commissioner Tim Finchem basically laughed off Woods holding his announcement opposite the Accenture, said "We have tournaments every week. It's going to be a story in and of itself. A lot of people are going to be watching golf this week to see what the world says about it. That will be a good thing."

Not really, it's a Tiger thing. Play a refrain of Sinatra singing "My Way." Because for Tiger that's the only way. Right way or wrong way. He didn't want to accept advice to extricate himself from his difficulties, wouldn't allow any help from a crisis management team. He rarely listens to anyone, because he's rarely had to listen to anyone.

Until now. Until some of the sponsors who stayed the course told him to shape up. And so carefully, artfully, Tiger appeared before a few friends and supporters at the clubhouse of the PGA Tour course in Ponte Vedra, Fla.

It wasn't a press conference. No questions were permitted. Rather it was a coronation. His highness deigned to address us, the great unwashed, the great unknowledgeable. Told us he would return to save golf now that he himself was saved.

The great are different from you and me. They are confident. They are arrogant. Tiger's people said Tiger's announcement had to be made today. "It was an issue of timing." Timing for Tiger, but not for the Accenture.

"There was a very good reason to do it Friday," said Tiger's agent, and not do it next week."

Only Woods among the sporting glitterati could give us his side of the story, of the missed three months, of the sexual dalliances, of the plans for the future and not be obligated to answer questions.

Here I am, folks, was his premise. Now leave me alone. You're lucky I said as much as I did.

What the public will say could prove interesting. Will his followers, the ones wearing the hats with "TW" in the front, flock back. Will they be bitter? Enthralled? Will golf bloom once again? Will Tiger be given credit? Will he be blamed?

Someone called the setting where Tiger was to make his brief speech reminiscent of a Greek chorus, with friends and colleagues in the room lending support that is virtual if not vocal. It was place of safety, of security.

On a golf course, the situation will be different. He will be badgered by the media, perhaps even heckled by fans.

Tiger wasn't at the Accenture, but he was all over it. It became his event when the news got out that he would be speaking 2,000 miles away.

Maybe it was accidental, that the announcement would be opposite the Accenture. Maybe it was intentional. Either way, as Ernie Els contended, it was selfish.