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Golf star breaks his silence and defends ‘courageous’ wife

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By Nick Allen and Paul Thompson
Monday Nov 30 2009

TIGER Woods yesterday issued a statement saying he was "human and not perfect" following his bizarre latenight car crash in which he hit a fire hydrant and a tree.

In his first public comment since the incident in the early hours of Friday, the golfer said his wife Elin Nordegren (29) was not to blame. He paid tribute to her for “courageously” helping him following the accident outside their home in Orlando, Florida.

Woods (33) said: “I have some cuts, bruising and right now I’m pretty sore. This situation is my fault, and it’s obviously embarrassing to my family and me. I’m human and I’m not perfect.”

Woods has faced a string of claims that his wife confronted him over allegations about his private life in a tabloid newspaper and then chased him down the drive.

But Woods said there had been “many false, unfounded and malicious rumours”. He said: “The only person responsible for the accident is me. My wife, Elin, acted courageously when she saw I was hurt and in trouble. She was the first person to help me. Any other assertion is absolutely false.”

Woods said the accident was a “private matter” and he wanted to keep it that way. But his decision not to go into further detail meant speculation continued to swirl about the crash.

Last night police made a third attempt to speak to Woods and his wife about the accident but the appointment was cancelled.

The star has now hired a lawyer and will only talk to police investigating the crash in his presence. The interview is expected to take place today.

Elin Nordegren originally told police she had used a golf club to break into the Cadillac Escalade to rescue the her husband after he hit a fire hydrant and a tree. But yesterday it emerged that a number of windows on the vehicle had been smashed and police are now trying to establish how it happened.

According to one report by the celebrity entertainment website TMZ, the player told a friend that his wife had “gone ghetto” on him, scratching his face hours before the accident.

Tabloid

The website said she confronted Woods following allegations about him in a tabloid magazine and that when he drove off she chased after his car.

The accident came two days after the ‘National Enquirer’ magazine published a story alleging that Woods had been seeing a New York nightclub hostess, and that they recently were together in Melbourne, where Woods competed in the Australian Masters.

The woman, Rachel Uchitel, has vehemently denied any romantic connection with Woods and hired a lawyer to counter the allegations.

Florida Highway Patrol spokesman Kim Montes said they wanted to speak to Woods and his wife. She said: “We consider her a witness and she will be interviewed along with her husband.”

Florida Highway Patrol released a recording of a 911 call by an unidentified neighbour.

The neighbour says: “I have someone down in front of my house. I heard it and came out to see. It’s a car accident.

They’re laying on the ground.” Asked if the person was unconscious, the neighbour replied “yes”. He was then asked if the person was breathing the man replies: “I can’t tell right now.” In the background a woman could be heard screaming: “What happened?”

The man, who does not identify the unconscious man as Tiger Woods, replies: “We don’t know what happened, we are finding it all out.”

Officers went to Woods’ home in the exclusive Isleworth development in Orlando on Friday but were told by his wife that he was sleeping. They returned on Saturday and yesterday only to be told by the player’s agent that both he and his wife were unavailable.

Woods doesn’t have to make any statement to police, who under Florida law are only required to see his driving licence and insurance documents.

- Nick Allen and Paul Thompson