Woods accused of 'selfish' timing by Els

Woods is to make a statement in Florida while the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship – the biggest event of the golfing year so far – is being held in Arizona.

it comes 84 days after he smashed his car, went to hospital and then disappeared from view in an attempt to save his marriage as lurid sex allegations were made.

"It's selfish," Els told a reporter from American magazine Golf Week. "You can write that. I feel sorry for the sponsor. Mondays are a good day to make statements, not Friday. This takes a lot away from the golf tournament."

The sponsor in question, of course, is one of the first companies to dump Woods after all the revelations about his private life that emerged following his November 27 car crash.

Another player in Tucson, not wanting to be named, felt the same as Els.

"That was the first thing we all thought of, like he is sticking it to Accenture – and that the PGA Tour is part of it all," he said, drawing reference to the fact that Woods has been given use of the Tour's headquarters to say what he wants to say without taking any questions.

"It's like Tim (Finchem, the tour commissioner) has lost his head. He wants Tiger back in the worst way and so he lets this go on. I mean, we all want to see Tiger back, but this doesn't look good."

Sergio Garcia agreed that "the timing of it is not the best, but he has to do what's best for him, I guess."

Rory McIlroy said in the press conference following his first round victory: "He's got to come out at some point. I suppose he might want to get something back against the sponsor that dropped him."

Woods's management agent Mark Steinberg has pointed out that when the star addresses a small gathering of "friends, colleagues and close associates", plus a few reporters and one television camera, the golf will not actually have started at Dove Mountain.

He said he called one of Accenture's executives to give a "heads up" and made sure the statement would come "well outside the tournament's TV window. Accenture couldn't have been more supportive".

On Els's remark Steinberg responded: "It's always good to get your information right before commenting.

"It's strictly a timing issue. There is a very good reason (for Friday) and not do it next week."

But when asked what the reason was he would not say.

Match Play defending champion Geoff Ogilvy stated: "Maybe we can put the whole tournament on hold for 10 minutes to watch. The only thing I will say about it is that I would like to see him answer some questions.

"If he answers some questions then that would make it real because he wouldn't be working off a script. But it's a start – and he's got to start somewhere."

Open champion Stewart Cink took a more sympathetic view than Els.

"I think it's coincidental that he would pick the Friday of Accenture to announce," he commented. "It's probably got more to do with his schedule than anything else."

England's Paul Casey said: "Anything that starts the healing process is a good thing."

There were three all-European clashes on the first day of the Match Play – Oliver Wilson, Luke Donald and Lee Westwood beat Miguel Angel Jimenez, Graeme McDowell and Chris Wood respectively.

Malton's Simon Dyson lost to American Sean O'Hair 3&1 while England's Ross McGowan, who replaced Woods in Arizona this week, knocked out top seed Steve Stricker with a birdie putt of nearly 30 feet on the first extra hole at Dove Mountain.

Runner-up to Westwood at the Dubai World Championship in November, the former English amateur champion is only the second bottom seed to beat the top seed at the Match Play. Eight years ago Woods lost to Australian Peter O'Malley.