Woods: 'Not the same man' as year ago

NEW YORK, Nov. 17 (UPI) -- U.S. golfer Tiger Woods said Wednesday he's "not the same man" he was nearly a year ago when his marital infidelities first created a media firestorm.

Writing in a Newsweek essay titled "How I've Redefined Victory," Woods said his emotional life has been slowly healing in the months after a Thanksgiving 2009 car accident that spawned revelations of mistresses and infidelities.

He also admitted, "I can never truly repair the damage I've done, especially to my family. But I can keep trying.

"The physical pain from that car accident has long healed. But the pain in my soul is more complex and unsettling; it has been far more difficult to ease -- and to understand," Woods wrote.

"I made terrible choices and repeated mistakes. I hurt the people whom I loved the most."

The Newsweek piece and Woods' decision Wednesday to open a long-awaited Twitter account seemed to be indications the former world No. 1 golfer is embarking on a new phase in efforts to rehabilitate his image.