THE NEW York night club hostess who was reported to have had an affair with the world’s number one golfer Tiger Woods, yesterday cancelled her scheduled press conference in Los Angeles amid rumours that Woods may have paid for her silence.
Gloria Allred, the Hollywood attorney who represents Rachel Uchitel, cited “unforeseen circumstances”.
The celebrity website TMZ had reported that Uchitel was text messaging Woods an hour before he crashed his Cadillac SUV outside his Florida home, setting off a dispute with the golfer’s wife, Elin Nordegren.
Another website, Radaronline, claimed that after denying an affair with Woods, Ms Uchitel was about to confirm the relationship.
Several websites said Ms Uchitel was in contact with Woods on Wednesday night and implied the press conference was cancelled as the result of a pay-off.
In the week since Woods’s accident, the pattern of reports on his alleged paramours appearing on dubious internet sites, then being followed up by mainstream media, has become well-established.
Two days ago on his own website, Woods admitted to “transgressions” but pleaded for privacy.
Three women have now been reported to have had affairs with Woods, who previously presented a public image of a happily married family man.
In addition to Ms Uchitel and Jaimee Grubbs, a Las Vegas cocktail waitress who says she kept more than 300 text messages from the golfer, Kalika Moquin, marketing manager for The Bank nightclub in Las Vegas, may also have been involved with him.
In a cover story on Ms Moquin, Life and Style magazine reported that the buxom brunette saw Woods as recently as October 23rd. According to Life and Style, “Tiger told Kalika that married life isn’t all it’s built up to be. He said he wasn’t happy in his marriage or his home life and that there was just so much pressure on him.”
The Chicago Sun-Times has reported that Woods and Nordegren are in marriage counselling.
The website sports-odds.com is calculating odds on whether Woods will be married, separated, divorced or remarried by New Year’s Eve. Odds are also given on him losing his sponsors and winning the next major.
Jesper Parnevik, the Swedish golfer who introduced Ms Nordegren to Woods, has expressed regret.
“I really feel sorry for Elin, since me and my wife were at fault for hooking her up with him,” Parnevik told Golf Channel.
“We probably thought he was a better guy than he is. I would probably need to apologise to her and hope she uses a driver next time instead of the 3-iron.”
(Nordegren smashed the rear window of Wood’s vehicle with a golf club at the time of the accident. She said it was to get him out of the vehicle; a simulation shown on Chinese television showed her attacking the SUV in a jealous fit.)
The Florida Highway Patrol revealed that Woods did $3,300 in damage to public and private property, after reaching a speed of 30mph just 50ft beyond his driveway. There was $3,000 of damage to the fire hydrant; $200 to a neighbour’s tree; and $100 to a hedge. Woods’s Cadillac Escalade sustained $8,000 in damage.