Police to release 911 tapes as fans wonder about impact of Tiger Woods' car accident on his game

November 29 -- Whether or not Tiger Woods stepped out on his wife, or hubby Elin Nordegren messed up his face and slammed his car with a 9-iron during Friday’s car accident, golf fans want to know how all the rumors, innuendos, and physical injuries will affect Woods’ golf game.

• Relive Tiger Woods' wire-to-wire victory at the 2009 Australian Masters with these photos

As police continue their investigation into Friday’s increasingly bizarre-sounding accident, there’s little doubt that the PGA Tour is anxious for some answers about its rock star meal-ticket.

Ratings gold. It’s no secret that when Woods tees it up on any given Sunday, TV ratings go through the roof. And when the world’s best golfer takes a week off, so do television viewers.

In fact, in the eight months that Woods missed due to reconstructive knee surgery, revenues and attendance for major golf tourneys plummeted some 40 percent, according to the UK’s Telegraph.

Already, there is reasonable speculation that Woods will skip his next course date, the Chevron World Challenge, in which he participates as host and player.

“I haven’t heard anything yet [about Woods’ status for next week],” a PGA Tour spokesperson told Boston Golf Examiner in an e-mail. “Tigerwoods.com would be the place to get any updates.”

No news. Not so much. What you get from Woods’ official Web site is a terse message from November 27: “Tiger Woods was in a minor car accident outside his home last night. He was admitted, treated and released today in good condition. We appreciate very much everyone's thoughts and well wishes.”

Woods had been scheduled to hold a pre-tourney press conference on December 1. With no word about anything coming from Woods’ Florida compound since the accident, it would be surprising if he were to meet the press at Sherwood Country Club on Tuesday.

Given all that has happened, golf fans must wonder how the physical injuries and apparent emotional issues surrounding his one-man car crash will affect Tiger’s game. Will there be any lingering impact from his reported six-minute loss of consciousness as he lay bleeding in the street outside his Florida home?

Mood swings. Spectators might observe that Woods has already expressed over-the-top emotions during his last several golf tournaments. Sure, Woods has won six events this year (although no majors), but he has also seemed unusually on edge.

Woods has always been intense; you don’t get to be number one in the world without extreme focus. But it seems as if the clubs have been flying out of Woods’ grip more frequently and with ever-increasing frustration.

Mental meltdowns. And what about his uncharacteristic late-round meltdowns? Until the PGA Championship in August, Woods had never lost a tournament that he led going into the final round. Tiger then coughed up a similar lead to the unheralded Heath Slocum at the Barclays.

Woods’ club-tossing seemed to boil over after the Barclays, with an infamous incident caught on video at the Deutsche Bank Championship in Boston in September. His driver abuse culminated in the near-hit of a spectator at the Australian Masters, Woods’ most recent tournament, a two-stroke, wire-to-wire victory. (Rachel Uchitel, the woman whom gossip rags have linked romantically to Woods, reportedly stayed on the same floor of the same Melbourne hotel while Woods was down under. She has repeatedly denied having an affair with Woods.)

Of course, all of this could be 20-20 hindsight in light of recent events. It could also be that it takes even one of the world’s greatest athletes more than a year to  regain his stroke after major knee surgery.

There’s also the possibility that off-course issues have invaded Tiger Woods’ head, which, as any hacker knows, can throw your entire game out of whack.

In any case, the golf world waits not only for Tiger Woods’ explanation about Friday’s car accident, which could come later today if police release the 911 tapes related to his crash. But beyond the lurid fascination with the private life of one of the world’s most guarded celebrities, golf fans really want to know when they’ll see Woods next on the links and how he’ll play.

Here’s hoping Tiger reemerges as the superstar golfer whom duffers worldwide have come to count on to make the impossible, breath-taking shots only he can make.

Where was Tiger going when he pulled out of his driveway at 2:25 Friday morning? Why, to beat the crowds to the post-Thanksgiving sales, of course! Read about it at Tiger Woods rushing out for pre-Cyber Monday deals on golf clubs.