More lurid claims as Tiger Woods is linked to porn star

Tiger is ready to face the public (AFP / GETTY IMAGES)

Shamed Tiger Woods faced widespread ridicule yesterday amid more lurid claims about his private life.

The golfer had to grit his teeth through a humiliating few days in America as he was lampooned on internet sites.

The embarrassment increased with the ill-timed publication of the new edition of Golf Digest magazine with the headline ‘10 Tips Obama Can Take From Tiger’ emblazoned on the cover.

‘Number 1: don’t get caught’ is the favoured retort from internet bloggers. Others have found new Woods-related uses for ‘Just Do It’, the motto of his biggest sponsor, Nike.

Experts questioned how long sponsors would stand by a sports star who has become an international laughing stock as a porn star was named as his alleged seventh mistress.

Lawyers for Holly Sampson, the 36-year-old star of films such as Diary Of A Horny Housewife, Girl on Girl Tickle Wards and Blondes in Peril: The Narcoleptic Agent, had nothing to say on the matter. Sampson joins an assorted list of well-endowed and usually blonde cocktail waitresses, models and nightclub promoters who have been named as mistresses of Woods. They reportedly also include a UK TV presenter.

Woods, the first billionaire sportsman, earned an estimated $100million last year, much of it from sponsorship. Major sponsors, including Nike and EA Sports, insisted yesterday that their relationship with Woods was solid, but some observers believe they must be concerned.

“Sponsors must be worried that this is damaging their brand,” said Mike Paul, a public relations specialist.

There was further bad news for the golfer last night as more embarrassing details about his encounter with a fire hydrant were revealed by a police officer who responded to the accident outside his Florida home.

The officer said that he found two iron golf clubs on the ground and $235 in the vehicle.

The Windermere police officer said in a report released yesterday that Woods was lying on the road covered in a blanket and resting his head on a pillow.

The officer said the world's No. 1 golfer tried to stand up before the officer told him to lie down for his safety. The officer used the pillow to immobilize the golfer's spine.

He also said that Woods was bleeding from cut lips but was breathing normally. His wife Elin was kneeling over him.

The car's engine was still running, the front passenger door was jammed and both rear door windows were smashed. The two golf clubs were next to a golf cart, which also was in the road, the report said.

Woods hit a hydrant and a tree around 2:25 am on November 27. His wife told police she used a golf club to smash the back windows of the SUV to help him out.

The accident — and Woods' refusal to answer questions about it — fuelled speculation about a possible dispute between the golfer and his wife.

Just days before the crash a National Enquirer story alleged Woods had been seeing a New York nightclub hostess, Rachel Uchitel, who has denied it.

After the crash Us Weekly reported that a Los Angeles cocktail waitress named Jaimee Grubbs claims she had a 31-month affair with Woods.

Last week Woods issued a statement saying he had let his family down with unspecified “transgressions” that he regrets with “all of my heart”. He did not elaborate.

* Source: The Belfast Telegraph