LONDON (AP):

Tiger Woods' decision to take what he called "an indefinite break" to repair his marriage was greeted with surprise, bemusement and even relief yesterday as golfers, fans and commentators contemplated the immediate future of a sport without its biggest draw.

John Daly sympathised as newspapers worldwide continued to pile up accusations of infidelity, Annika Sorenstam lamented a family tragedy and Colin Montgomerie noted dryly that golf's big prizes just became a little more accessible to those unable to touch the heights regularly reached by Woods.

tumultuous times for golf

These are tumultuous times for golf after Friday's announcement by its No. 1 player that he is taking time out following two weeks of allegations of extramarital affaires.

"There was an aura and that wall, if you like, has been split slightly," said Montgomerie, Europe's 2010 Ryder Cup captain. "There are cracks and I feel that it gives us more opportunity of winning these big events now."

Next year could have been one of the biggest in Woods' hitherto stellar career, with three of the four majors played at courses on which he has already triumphed.

Instead, golf is preparing for another spell without its biggest superstar.

Woods' absence from the PGA Tour for much of last season because of reconstructive knee surgery led to a drop in television ratings of 50 per cent.

"Indefinite is a scary word," former US Open champion Geoff Ogilvy said. "That's not good for us. But I'm sure he'll get it worked out."

Woods, so far, seems intent on doing so without help from his fellow professionals.

"He just didn't want to talk to anybody," Daly said at the Australian PGA yesterday. "I'm in shock over it all, a lot of our players are in shock. I'm not happy with the way some of our players have responded - that's their way of getting back because they know they can't beat him at golf.

"They always say there is no one bigger in golf than the game itself. But Tiger is."

Craig Parry was finishing his third round at the Australian PGA when he heard about Woods' decision to step aside.

A friend of Woods who lives nearby in Windermere, Florida, Parry played alongside him for the first two rounds of last month's Australian Masters in Melbourne - Woods' final tournament before his car crash and subsequent accusations of infidelity.

"What he did was totally wrong," Parry said. "And he's got no one to blame except himself. You can look at other people, but he's the one who's got to look in the mirror."

And in the newspapers, yesterday brought a fresh round of headlines all over the world.

Italian newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport featured a cartoon showing a golf bag containing six bare female legs in high heels and two clubs.

German tabloid Bild continued to print salacious details of the scandal, but added on its web site that it hoped "Tiger is as successful as on the golf course" as he tries to repair his marriage.

figure of fun

"For years to come, he will be a figure of fun to comedians, great and small," said Peter Allis, the BBC's chief golf commentator for more than 30 years. "We were told for years that his father stood by the side of the green throwing pebbles in buckets of water, shouting and blowing whistles to make him oblivious to all these noises.

"Now, we have to see how strong his mind is."

While Michelle Wie refused to comment at the Dubai Ladies Masters on what she said was a private matter for Woods, former top-ranked LPGA star Sorenstam told Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet she was saddened by the news.

"I think this whole thing is tragic," she said. "We used to train together, but both myself and Tiger have been very busy lately and, therefore, haven't seen, or heard from each other as frequently."