LOS ANGELES: In a stunning decision, golf superstar Tiger Woods announced he was putting his game on the backburner to try to save his marriage as he admitted for the first time being unfaithful.

Woods said he was taking an "indefinite break" from the PGA Tour and apologized, pleading for forgiveness in a statement on his website.

"I am deeply aware of the disappointment and hurt that my infidelity has caused to so many people, most of all my wife and children," he said.

"I want to say again to everyone that I am profoundly sorry and that I ask forgiveness."

Woods, who has not been seen in public for the past two weeks, has a two-year-old daughter and a 10-month-old son with his wife, Elin.

"After much soul searching, I have decided to take an indefinite break from professional golf. I need to focus my attention on being a better husband, father and person," he added.

PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem said Friday they would not try to rush Wood into returning to the sport.

"His priorities are where they need to be, and we will continue to respect and honor his family's request for privacy," Finchem said. "We look forward to Tiger's return to the PGA Tour when he determines the time is right for him."

Ten women have been romantically linked to the billionaire golfer, whose private life has come under the glare of public scrutiny since he crashed his car in late November.

Woods was taken to hospital on November 27 after hitting a fire hydrant and a tree, two days after a tabloid reported he was having an affair with New York club hostess Rachel Uchitel.

Woods, who turns 34 on December 30, was first linked to Uchitel, who has denied the affair despite a report on celebrity gossip website TMZ.com that a friend of his flew her to Australia when Woods was there for a tournament.

Cocktail waitress Jamiee Grubbs, 24, played a voicemail, which she claims to be Woods talking, to support her claim they had a 31-month relationship.

Also on a list compiled by FOX News are porn star Holly Sampson, 36; Kalika Moquin, 27, a Las Vegas club manager; model Jamie Jungers, 26; Mindy Lawton, a 33-year-old waitress from Orlando; and three unidentified women, two from British reports and another waitress from Orlando.

"It may not be possible to repair the damage I've done, but I want to do my best to try," Woods wrote Friday.

"Again, I ask for privacy for my family and I am especially grateful for all those who have offered compassion and concern during this difficult period."

Woods usually does not start his season until the Buick Invitational at the end of January so if he takes an "indefinite" leave it could be some time before he tees it up again.

He had knee surgery last year and spent eight months recovering. Television ratings dropped 50 percent with Woods minus from the Tour.

PGA golfer Jesper Parnevik reiterated to ESPN that he made a mistake in linking up Woods with his wife.

Elin Nordegren previously worked as a nanny for Parnevik and in 2001 she met Woods through Parnevik and his wife Mia.

"I vouched for the guy," Parnevik told ESPN's "Outside the Lines" show which airs Sunday night. "I told her this is the guy that I think is everything you want. I was wrong.

"I am sure she felt very lonely and very small in the whole hoopla and chaos when her world was turned upside down."

Woods earned an estimated 118 million dollars last year in prize money and endorsements.

According to Forbes business magazine, Woods is the first athlete to have broken through the billion dollars earnings mark.

The sporting icon has won 14 major championships.

Aged just 25, he became the first man to win the US Open, the British Open, the USPGA and the Masters on a roll to make him the first simultaneous holder of all four major championship titles at the same time.

The media promptly dubbed the achievement the "Tiger Slam," as opposed to a Grand Slam given that the wins straddled 2000 and part of 2001.

In 2002, he emulated Nick Faldo and Jack Nicklaus in winning back-to-back Masters Tournaments.

Born in Cypress, California on December 30, 1975, Tiger Woods is the son of Earl Woods, a lieutenant-colonel in the US Army, and Thai-born Kultida.

His parents christened him Eldrick, but his father nicknamed him Tiger in honor of a Vietnamese soldier who had been a good friend.