Tigers charmed life feels the squeeze

Tiger Woods has been blessed with one of the more idyllic lives a gorgeous wife,two adorable children,multiple millions...

Tiger Woods has been blessed with one of the more idyllic lives a gorgeous wife,two adorable children,multiple millions in the bank,and an image of purity and excellence that transcends the sport he dominates. But the image was under threat on Sunday as the mystery surrounding his car accident on Friday deepened and as he refused to talk to authorities.

Woods,33,broke a third day of silence on Sunday with a statement on his website,in which he called the accident embarrassing to my family and me and pleaded for privacy. Im human and Im not perfect, he said. But,he added,this is a private matter and I want to keep it that way.

His five-paragraph statement didnt answer many of the questions being raised about the accident. Florida Highway Patrol troopers hoping to question Woods and his wife Elin Nordegren were told by Mark NeJame,a prominent Orlando criminal defence attorney,that neither would be available to be interviewed at the couples $2.4-million home on Sunday. The accident that touched off the pressure on professional golfs No. 1 player began at 2.25 am on Friday,when Woods backed his black Cadillac Escalade out of his driveway and then ran over a fire hydrant before hitting a tree on a neighbours property. The car was badly damaged and,according to police,Woods wife said she used a golf club to break through a back window to remove him from the vehicle.

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The transcript of a 911 call,made by an unidentified neighbour,said Woods was on the ground,unconscious. An ambulance arrived and took him to a hospital,he was released later. His injuries included cuts on his face,and alcohol was not a factor. It remains unclear where Woods was going at that hour and why he declined to speak with state troopers for three days.

Those questions have led to unrestrained speculation in a supermarket tabloid and on numerous Internet sites,where the claims have included suggestions that Woods was having an affair and that he and his wife might have been arguing over that. The National Enquirer published a story a few days ago alleging that he was seeing a New York night club hostess Rachel Uchitel,and the two were recently together in Melbourne.

Woods seemed to allude to that speculation in his statement on Sunday,saying he was solely responsible for the accident. My wife,Elin,acted courageously when she saw I was hurt and in trouble… Any other assertion is absolutely false. He added: I deserve some privacy no matter how intrusive some people can be. It has been the slow-footed response to questions about the accident that has fed a public relations ordeal for the golfer.