Poll: Most See Tiger Woods' Apology as Sincere

March 3, 2010— -- More than half of Americans think Tiger Woods was sincere in his apology for the sex scandal that's engulfed his career, and express willingness to forgive his behavior. But bottom-line measures of Woods' popularity haven't moved in his favor since his televised mea culpa.

The scorecard, then, indicates that the golf star didn't lose any strokes by speaking publicly for the first time about the scandal, but neither did he hit the pin.

Click here for a PDF with charts and questionnaire.

Perhaps best for Woods is that 54 percent of Americans think he was sincere in his apology and 55 percent say they're ready to forgive him, far more than see him as insincere or say they're unready to forgive. However, a quarter express no opinion of Woods' sincerity – an open question mark there – and as many also say forgiveness is not theirs to offer.

Relatively few, additionally, say that in their opinion his wife should forgive him (29 percent); almost as many say the opposite, and the plurality in this case say that's her business alone.

Woods was back in the news yesterday when The Associated Press reported that he'd completed a week of family counseling, returned to home to Florida and was focused on fitness and his golf game, though he has not said when he'll end a self-imposed hiatus from the sport.

FAVE? – In a basic measure of popularity, just 39 percent express a favorable opinion of Woods overall, essentially unchanged from its level just before his apology and still vastly below its peak, a remarkable 88 percent nearly 10 years ago. While no better, it's at least not worse; a plateau may be the best he could have hoped for after his sudden dive in favorability.

About as many, 35 percent, see Woods unfavorably as favorably, essentially the same as the number who said so pre-apology. His unfavorable rating's been higher, though – 43 percent as the scandal unfolded in December, again at least indicating that the worst of the crash may be over.

Moreover, the number of Americans who think it's OK for Woods to retain his lucrative sponsorships has held essentially steady, at 54 percent in this poll, peaking at 68 percent among 18- to 34-year-olds, a target group for many advertisers. Nonetheless, Gatorade dropped him last week, following Accenture and AT&T.