THE WORLD’S number one golfer, Tiger Woods, yesterday confessed to “transgressions” in his private life.
His statement yesterday was made as US Weekly magazine published details of an alleged 31-month affair with a cocktail waitress who claims to have more than 300 text messages from Woods.
In the five days since Woods was found lying semi-conscious beside his Cadillac SUV outside his Florida home, he has communicated with the outside world three times through his website.
The 2am incident followed closely on earlier published allegations of a different affair. There was widespread speculation that Woods crashed into a fire hydrant and tree during a domestic row with his Swedish wife, Elin Nordegren.
“I have let my family down and I regret those transgressions with all my heart,” Woods wrote yesterday. “I have not been true to my values and the behaviour my family deserves.”
Woods, whose personal fortune is estimated at $1 billion (€665 million), has received more coverage over the past five days than when he won the Masters in 1997 at the age of 21. Now 33, Woods is four victories short of Jack Nicklaus’s record of 18 major golfing championships.
“I have been dismayed to realise the full extent of what tabloid scrutiny really means,” Woods wrote on his website. “For the last week, my family and I have been hounded to expose intimate details of our personal lives.”
US Weekly alleged Woods met cocktail waitress Jaimee Grubbs in a Las Vegas nightclub the week after the 2007 Masters, and two months before his wife Elin give birth to their first child. The magazine published the transcript of a voicemail allegedly left by Woods, in which he said his wife “went through my phone” and might call Ms Grubbs. Woods asked Ms Grubbs to take her name off her voicemail.
Alluding to suspicions that his wife attacked him with a golf club, Woods wrote: “The stories . . . that physical violence played any role in the car accident were utterly false and malicious. Elin has always done more to support our family and shown more grace than anyone could possibly expect.”
The Florida Highway Patrol closed their investigation into the traffic incident on Tuesday, fining Woods $164 for reckless driving.