Woods’ appeal as a marketing icon rests largely on his dominance of the game’s landscape but part of his appeal to sponsors is his carefully nurtured image away from the course. Over the years nothing has dented that image – a situation that is unlikely to change, despite the accident.

According to Hollywood Gossip, Rachel Uchitel claims that she has been sleeping with Tiger Woods. Although Woods’ lawyers deny the claim, the golfer has admitted that he met Uchitel at a club. Whether or not Rachel Uchitel’s claims of having an affair with Tiger Woods are credible isn’t exactly clear. The starlet recently claimed to be having an affair with a TV star in Bones, and she made the claims to a tabloid rather than a mainstream news outlet. It’s possible that Uchitel is trying to gain attention, and it is also possible that her claims are true.

Woods is perhaps the world’s richest athlete and the biggest draw on the PGA tour as he chases Jack Nicklaus’ record for victories in major tournaments and the unofficial title of best golfer ever. He has won 71 times on the PGA tour in a glittering career that includes 14 major wins.

Tiger Woods in car accident updates

He returned to action in February this year after being sidelined for eight months due to the knee surgery, and finished on top of the FedEx Cup standings for the season.

The Orlando Sentinel newspaper, citing the highway patrol, reported that the airbags in the Cadillac Escalade did not deploy, an indication that the car was traveling under 33 mph (53 kph).

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