Magic Johnson hails Tiger return

Tiger Woods' humbling self-analysis drew praise NBA star Magic Johnson.

Woods, who will end a nearly five-month break next month at the Masters, spoke to ESPN and The Golf Channel on Sunday about his infidelity and multiple affairs and his own break from the core values that helped mould him into a 14-time major champion.

"I tried to stop and I couldn't stop and it was just, it was horrific," he said.

"It was really tough to look at what I had become. That's pretty brutal. I saw a person (in the mirror) I never thought I would ever become."

The story hit home all too well for Johnson, who retired in 1991 after revealing that he had contracted the HIV virus, making brief comebacks for the 1992 Olympics and in the NBA.

Johnson told the Philadelphia Daily News that he was pleased Woods would return to golf.

"I'm glad he's back," Johnson said. "You have to apologize first to your wife and kids. He did that, I'm sure.

Then you apologise to the sponsors and fans. Then you move on. You can't live in the past. You've got to get out there and do what you do. He's a golfer, the world's best, so get out there."