LOS ANGELES Golf superstar Tiger Woods announced Friday he was taking an 'indefinite break' from the sport as he admitted for the first time being unfaithful to his wife and asked for forgiveness, AFP reported.

'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.

'I want to say again to everyone that I am profoundly sorry and that I ask forgiveness,' he said in a statement posted on his website.

'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, asking for privacy 'during this difficult period.'

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 after an apparent domestic dispute.

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

Reports suggested he had been drinking before that accident and allegedly also taking prescription medications.

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

Cocktail waitress Jamiee Grubbs, 24, played a Woods' voicemail to support her claim they had a 31-month relationship.

Also on a list compiled by the 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.

Woods is arguably the biggest sporting personality in the world — with a bank balance to match.

The world number one 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.

Fourteen majors championships have made Woods a sporting icon and his earning power and accompanying fame have snowballed since.

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.