Tiger Woods won much-needed backing yesterday from the head of key sponsor Nike.

Tiger Woods

Woods, a squeaky-clean marketing juggernaut, became the first billion-dollar athlete thanks to endorsements that have started to vanish even as the world's top golfer said he will take an indefinite break to work on personal issues.

The chairman of US sportswear giant Nike, which has backed Woods since his 1996 professional debut, told Sports Business Journal in remarks published Monday that he believed the storm would blow over the 14-time major winner.

"He has been really great. When his career is over, you'll look back on these indiscretions as a minor blip, but the media is making a big deal out of it right now," Phil Knight said.

His comments came after Accenture, a Dublin-based technology and management company, said on Sunday it was ending six years of ties with Woods because he was "no longer the right representative for its advertising."

Gillette said on Saturday it would phase Woods out of advertisements during his break from golf, calling it a supportive move.

AT&T, which backs Woods' own US PGA event, said in a statement, "We are presently evaluating our ongoing relationship with him." But Woods also received support yesterday from Tag Heuer, which said it planned to continue its relationship with him.

Knight called the admitted infidelity by Woods "part of the game" in the industry of endorsements. "One of the things we always try to do when we have a big endorsement is check out the character of the individual, but you're not going to get it right all the time. He was one we checked out and he came out clean."

Mistress Rist apologises to Elin

Orlando: The latest gossip-page fodder in Tiger Woods' epic meltdown came when former alleged mistress Cory Rist appeared on the Today show, apologising to his wife Elin and saying Woods portrayed his marriage as falling apart in 2006. "I understood that things were very difficult at home, not what we thought they were on TV," Rist said on the US show. "According to him, things were rough and they were going to separate. "He said, 'We're on the outs,' but she was pregnant and they had to get through that." Rist said her relationship with Woods began in June of 2006. At least a dozen women have claimed to have been lovers of Woods. The NY Post reported yesterday that a 13th woman, Julie Postle, was named by an ex-boyfriend as having had a Woods fling.u00a0 -- AFP How do you like the new new mid-day.com experience? Share your feedback and help us improve. Read Next Story Allen leads Celtics to 11th consecutive victory› Trending Stories Latest Photos Latest Videos Latest Web Stories ADVERTISEMENT Mid-Day Fast ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT