Tiger ends month of misery as an Invisible Man
One month after his one-car crash touched off a sensational sex
scandal that drew the world’s attention, Tiger Woods has become an
Invisible Man even as his world has collapsed around him.
In the early morning hours of November 27, Woods struck a tree and
fire hydrant when he lost control of his car, and was rushed to a
hospital with facial cuts and bruises. He hailed his wife Elin as a hero
who rescued him by smashing the vehicle’s back windows with golf clubs.
But where was he going at such an hour? What made him lose control of
the vehicle? Why smash the windows farthest from Woods? Did a tabloid
report days earlier about an affair spark a marital spat?
Answers to those questions remain unconfirmed, despite reports from
celebrity website and a reckless driving traffic citation against Woods.
However the golf superstar’s own admissions of infidelity,
“transgressions” and “personal sins” give credence to lurid claims by at
least 14 women who say they had affairs with Woods.
In one of the most stunning falls from grace ever seen, Woods’s
squeaky-clean marketing juggernaut image was destroyed. An audiotape of
a phone call one of the mistresses released with a voice sounding like
Woods was followed hours later by a Woods statement vaguely confessing
to wrongdoings.
The 14-time major champion, who skipped his own charity event saying
that his accident injuries kept him from attending, later announced he
was taking an indefinite leave from his pro golf career.
While Woods went undercover, sponsors began pulling his
once-omnipresent image from advertisements.
Watchmaker Tag Heuer and razor-blade giant Gillette quit using his
image during his hiatus. Telecommunications giant AT&T was reevaluating
Woods as a spokesman. Technology, management and outsourcing consultancy
Accenture dropped its deal altogether.
Nike however issued unqualified support in Woods’s darkest hour.
Reports followed at dizzying speed, the latest being Elin having
hired a Hollywood celebrity divorce lawyer and taken her children with
Woods — 10-month-old son Charlie and two-year-old daughter Sam — to an
island home she bought in Sweden.
Clearly, Woods had hopes for a better first Christmas for his son.
Woods was said to be hitting golf balls alone at night to cope with
the firestorm. Other reports said he had rekindled a relationship with
Rachel Uchitel, the New York show club hostess who was the first
mistress revealed.
Uchitel was visiting the same Australian hotel as Woods when he was
playing an event Down Under, and claimed she was visiting her parents
over the holidays when she showed up in Palm Beach, Florida, close to
where Woods has his 20 million-dollar luxury yacht “Privacy” docked.
Bikini-clad beach photos of Uchitel were making the internet rounds
over the holiday weekend.
As the scandal unfolded, Woods became a punch line for comedians,
with even Disney working a line about the score of alleged Woods affairs
into a show at Disneyland.
As 2010 loomed, so did a US PGA Tour season without Woods, whose
absence cuts attendance at tournaments and television viewership by 50
percent, adding stress to a sponsor list already weakened by the
struggling economy.
A scandal that began with unanswered questions now has one major
mystery — when, if ever, will Woods return to his quest to break the
record 18 major titles won by Jack Nicklaus?
Nearly everyone with a connection to the matter expects a whirlwind
of media attention and huge global interest when Woods plays in his next
event, just as they understand why Woods might need a break to cope with
the revelations of a life far different than model family-man he
portrayed.
Reminding people why they were fascinated with him in the first place
could be the road back for Woods, but long months await the superstar
once known for his uncanny ability to focus on his game under the most
tense pressure. This time, he’s in the game of his life.
PALM BEACH, Florida, Monday (AFP) |