No doubt it's been a somber Thanksgiving holiday in the Tiger Woods household. First, Woods’ wife, Elin, had to deal with articles just published in two supermarket tabloids alleging her husband’s infidelity.
Then Tiger suffered facial lacerations in the early morning hours Friday when the SUV he was driving hit a fire hydrant in front of his house, then pin-balled into a neighbor’s tree. Police reports say Woods was leaving his house at 2:25 a.m.
Woods was taken by ambulance to a local hospital, where he was treated and released. The Florida Highway Patrol said the accident is still under investigation and that they planned to query Woods personally on Saturday. The police report, which was not made public for more than 12 hours after the incident occurred, indicated that alcohol was not involved
The first news accounts of the accident said Woods was "seriously injured." Those stories were amended late Friday afternoon, after it was confirmed that Woods' injuries were minor. The Associated Press reported that Woods' wife, Elin, used a golf club to smash out the back window of the Cadillac Escalade and helped pull Tiger out.
Windermere Police Chief Daniel Saylor told the AP that Woods’ spouse told officers she was in the house when she heard the accident and came outside. Saylor said officers found Woods laying in the street with his wife hovering over him. Saylor said Woods was in and out of consciousness when his officers arrived.
It isn’t known why Woods was leaving his house in the wee hours after Thanksgiving. Coincidental or not, Woods had just made headlines in the National Enquirer and Star magazines. Articles in the Dec. 7 issues of both tabloids claim that Woods has been having an extramarital affair with Rachel Uchitel, a 34-year-old regular on the New York club scene.
The Enquirer’s front-page headline – “Tiger Woods Cheating Scandal” – is accompanied by an arrow pointing to a photo of Uchitel and text reading “Sexy Pictures Inside.” The Star headline: “Tiger & The Hot Brunette. Will It Destroy His Marriage?”
The stories in the two magazines are nearly identical. Woods is said to have met Uchitel last summer at a New York club; they allegedly have had several romantic trysts, including one in Melbourne during the Australian Masters; they engage in frequent “sexting” (exchanging provocative text messages); and Uchitel freely has been telling friends of her ongoing affair with Woods.
Contacted by the AP late Friday, Uchitel denied having any relationship with Woods.
Woods, 33, lives in the exclusive Orlando, Fla., golf community of Isleworth, which is home to many sports stars and wealthy business people. He and his Swedish wife, the former Elin Nordegren, have been married for five years. They have two children; 2-year-old daughter Sam and 9-month old son Charlie.
The couple have been building their dream home – make that dream compound; they purchased a $45 million "tear-down” in 2006 – on the Atlantic coast of Florida (Jupiter Island), with a move from Isleworth expected in early 2010.
Surely PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem heaved a huge sigh of relief when he learned that Woods was not seriously injured. The elite levels of professional golf have enjoyed unprecedented success since Woods turned pro in 1996, with total prize money more than quadrupling during that period, to more than $275 million in 2009. The PGA Tour effectively disappeared from sports fans’ radar screens for eight months after the 2008 U.S. Open, during which Woods was rehabbing from knee surgery.
Equally relieved was Mark Steinberg, who runs the global golf operations of IMG, the management company that represents Woods. But now Steinberg must grapple with a different set of challenges as he goes into damage control to repair Tiger’s formerly squeaky-clean image.
Indeed, there are many unanswered questions about the World No. 1's behavior.
AND CHECK OUT these two takes on the Woods episode, from Steve Elling of CBSSports.com and Mark Reason of The Telegraph in the UK.
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