Poll: Tiger Woods Censure Eases, But it's a Bogey for Golf

— -- Tiger Woods appears to be chipping himself out of the rough, his popularity as a player overcoming public dismay at his personal behavior. But it's a double bogey for his sport, with the number of Americans who call themselves golf fans slicing to a new low.

In advance of his first public comments on the scandal that bunkered his personal popularity, 65 percent in this ABC News poll say Woods should return to the sport this season, rising to 75 percent of golf fans. Very few – 7 percent of adults overall – want to see him retire permanently.

Click here for a PDF with charts and questionnaire.

Other trends indicate an easing of initial outrage at the Woods sex scandal. Unfavorable views of the golf star have eased by 10 points since December, to 32 percent, with more people taking a neutral stance. And there's been a slight decline, to 33 percent, in calls for his sponsors to drop him. Among golf fans just a quarter say Woods should lose his lucrative sponsorships.

Even with a better shot at redemption, it may be a long slog; while Woods' favorability rating has not worsened further, it also has not improved, and at 40 percent remains less than half its peak. There's trouble, moreover, for his sport overall: Not only have television ratings for tour play tanked during Woods' recent absence, but only 18 percent of Americans in this poll describe themselves as golf fans, down 10 points just since December.

Woods is to speak publicly on the scandal for the first time today, delivering prepared remarks to a group at PGA Tour Headquarters in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.

That's a step most people see as unnecessary: Fifty-six percent call the scandal a personal matter Woods need not talk about in public. Nonetheless, a substantial number, 40 percent, think he owes it to his to fans to address the issue publicly, then move on.