Daily Telegraph Reports
BAFFLED police are yet to interview Tiger Woods over a bizarre car crash just outside his Florida mansion that left the world’s greatest golfer unconscious and sparked claims it was caused by a domestic spat over allegations he was having an affair.
The golfing great’s wife, Erin Nordegren, said she rescued her husband from the wreckage using a golf club to smash the car window, but other reports emerging out of the US claimed she had used the club on her husband during their late-night row.
The fight that apparently led to the crash was reportedly sparked by tabloid reports Woods cheated on his wife with a nightclub hostess in Melbourne during the recent Australian Masters.
Woods, 33, suffered facial lacerations not in the accident but in the earlier fracas with his angry wife, according to celebrity website TMZ.
The crash, at 2.25am on the morning after Thanksgiving, followed the emergence of the unsubstantiated National Enquirer report claiming that Woods enjoyed trysts with 34-year-old New York party planner Rachel Uchitel in Los Angeles, Las Vegas and Australia.
The magazine published a photograph of Uchitel checking into Melbourne’s Crown Casino Hotel, where Woods stayed during the Masters tournament.
Both last night denied any affair. Uchitel said she had been in Melbourne two weeks ago with clients, but did not see Woods.
Rachel Uchitel
But TMZ, which broke the news of Michael Jackson’s death, said the allegations sparked a confrontation between Woods and Nordegren, who allegedly scratched his face and followed him with a golf club as he “beat a hasty retreat” to his Cadillac four-wheel drive.
As he tried to drive away, Nordegren hit the vehicle with the club, distracting Woods and causing him to crash into a fire hydrant, then a tree, just metres from their $2.4 million mansion.
When police arrived, they found a dazed Woods on the ground with cuts around his mouth and his wife hovering over him. The Orange County Sheriff’s Office said he was unconscious for six minutes.
“He had lacerations to his upper and lower lip and a little bit of blood in his mouth,” police chief Dan Saylor told The Sunday Telegraph. “They asked his wife what happened – she said the car hit a fire hydrant, then a tree. She was very distraught.”
Nordegren told police she rushed outside after hearing the crash and used the club to shatter the car’s rear window, so she could unlock the door and drag Woods out of the wrecked car.
Woods’ representatives would not comment on reports that the couple had quarrelled.
The drama unfolded in a prestigious gated community just outside Orlando, home to a slew of sports stars including basketballer Shaquille O’Neill and Australian golfer Stuart Appleby.
Shocked neighbours brought the injured Woods a pillow and a blanket as he lay on the ground.
The Florida Highway Patrol is investigating the crash and will decide whether to press charges. “Right now, we believe this is a traffic crash. We don’t believe it is a domestic issue,” spokeswoman Kim Montes said.
Authorities hope to interview the sports star for the first time today.
Mr Saylor said the golfer was not breathalysed at the scene: “My officers did say they had no indication he was under the influence of anything.”
Officers were turned away by Nordegren when they returned to speak to Woods yesterday. She told them he was sleeping.
Police were baffled at how Woods hit the hydrant and tree, on opposite sides of the road. Airbags in the car did not deploy, suggesting that it was travelling at less than 55km/h.
Uchitel, who has a high profile in New York and lost her fiance in the 9/11 attacks, insisted she had no relationship with Woods.
“God forbid Tiger got into a car wreck because of this false report of him having an affair,” she said.
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