Is there more to Tiger Woods' crash?

Series of unanswered questions including one about an alleged affair, add sensation to star golfer's car crash

Series of unanswered questions including one about an alleged affair, add sensation to star golfer's car crash

There are plenty of vivid details from the car crash that sent Tiger Woods to the hospital:

His SUV hit a fire hydrant and a tree; his lips were cut and he had blood in his mouth; his wife smashed a rear window with a golf club to get him out; he briefly lost consciousness.

A television van is parked near Tiger Woods' home in Orlando, Florida on Saturday PIC/AFP

There are also plenty of questions, among them:

Where was he going at 2:25 am on Friday? Why was there no word from the Woods' camp for nearly 13 hours after the accident?

Police hope Woods can answer some of them.

Two troopers tried to talk to the world's No 1 golfer Friday evening, but his wife said he was sleeping and they agreed to come back on Saturday, Florida Highway Patrol Sgt Kim Montes said.

According to the patrol, Woods had just left his Florida mansion when he lost control of his 2009 Cadillac and hit a fire hydrant, then a tree on his neighbour's property. The report said alcohol was not a factor.

The patrol reported the accident occurred at 2:25 am Friday morning and classified the injuries as serious. The first word from Woods' camp some 13 hours after the crash was that it was a "minor accident," and he was in good condition after being treated and released.

Windermere police chief Daniel Saylor said his two officers found the 33-year-old Woods lying in the street with his wife, Elin, hovering over him.

"She was frantic, upset," Saylor said in a briefing on Friday night. "It was her husband laying on the ground."

Saylor said Woods' wife told officers she was in the house when she heard the accident and "broke the back window with a golf club." He said the front-door windows were not broken and that the door was probably locked.

"She supposedly got him out and laid him on the ground," he said. "He was in and out of consciousness when my guys got there."

Unanswered

Left unanswered was where Woods was going at that hour. His agent, Mark Steinberg, and spokesman Glenn Greenspan said there would be no comment beyond the short statement of the accident posted on Woods' web site that said: "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."

Asked at an evening news conference if the couple could have been arguing, Saylor said he had no knowledge of that. The couple, married five years, have two children.

The accident came two days after the National Enquirer published a story alleging that Woods had been seeing a New York night club hostess.

The woman, Rachel Uchitel, denied having an affair with Woods when contacted by The Associated Press.
Woods rarely faces such private scrutiny, even as perhaps the most famous active athlete in the world. He usually makes news only because of what he can do with a golf club. Few other athletes have managed to keep their private lives so guarded, or have a circle of friends so airtight when it comes to life off the course. Woods' $2.4 million home is part of an exclusive subdivision near Orlando, a community set on an Arnold Palmer-designed golf course and a chain of small lakes. The neighbourhood, which is fortified with high brick walls, is home to CEOs and other sports stars such as the NBA's Shaquille O'Neal.

Assosiated Press

Did he sleep around?

Here's what www.tmz.com reported on Saturday:
"We're told Tiger had a conversation on Friday with a non-law enforcement type detailing what went down before his Escalade hit a fire hydrant.u00a0 We're told he said his wife had confronted him about reports that he was seeing another woman. The argument got heated and, according to our source, she scratched his face up.

We're told it was then Woods beat a hasty retreat for his SUV but according to our source, Woods says his wife followed behind with a golf club. As Tiger drove away, she struck the vehicle several times with the club."

Meanwhile, The National Enquirer reported that Rachel Uchitel was sleeping with Woods. A friend of Rachel's told the tabloid: "Rachel told me, 'I'm having an affair with Tiger. We're in love!' She even read me text messages Tiger sent her that said 'I love you, babe. It's always going to be just you and me. constantly sexting."