Tiger Woods sustained facial cuts in a minor car accident early Friday when his SUV hit a fire hydrant and a neighbor's tree as he was leaving his mansion in a gated waterfront community near Orlando, Fla.
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The world's No. 1 golfer was treated and released from a hospital in good condition, his spokesman said. The Florida Highway Patrol said Woods' vehicle hit a fire hydrant and a tree in his neighbor's yard after he pulled out of his driveway at 2:25 a.m.
Windermere, Fla., police chief Daniel Saylor told The Associated Press that officers found the 33-year-old PGA Tour star lying in the street with his wife, Elin, hovering over him.
"She was frantic, upset," Saylor said in a briefing Friday night. "It was her husband laying on the ground."
She told officers she was in the house when she heard the accident and "came out and broke the back window with a golf club," he said, adding that the front-door windows were not broken and that "the door was probably locked."
"She supposedly got him out and laid him on the ground," he said. "He was in and out of consciousness when my guys got there."
Saylor said Woods had lacerations to his upper and lower lips, and blood in his mouth; officers treated Woods for about 10 minutes until an ambulance arrived. Woods was conscious enough to speak, he said.
"He was mumbling, but didn't say anything coherent," Saylor said.
The Florida Highway Patrol said alcohol was not involved, although the accident remains under investigation and charges could be filed.
Woods was alone in his 2009 Cadillac when he pulled out of his driveway from his mansion at Isleworth, the patrol said.
Woods' injuries were described as serious in the patrol's report, though his spokesman, Glenn Greenspan, issued a statement that Woods was treated and released.
Woods' Web site, TigerWoods.com, issued the following statement about the accident:
"From Health Central Hospital and Tiger's Woods' office:
Tiger Woods was in a minor car accident outside his home last night.
He was admitted, treated and released today in good condition.
We appreciate very much everyone's thoughts and well wishes."
Left unanswered was where Woods was going at that hour. Greenspan and agent Mark Steinberg said there would be no comment beyond the short statement of the accident posted on Woods' Web site.
This has been an eventful holiday week for Woods. Earlier this week, stories in the tabloid National Enquirer and Star magazine alleged that Woods has had an ongoing romantic relationship with a New York woman named Rachel Uchitel. The Enquirer report alleged that the pair had had trysts in New York, Las Vegas, Los Angeles and Australia.
The New York Daily News reported in its Saturday editions that Uchitel denies any involvement with Woods, sending this message to the paper via her Facebook account: "There is NO relationship with tiger these girls quoted in the story are not being truthful."
Uchitel also denied any relationship with Woods to The Associated Press and the New York Post.
"God forbid Tiger got into a car wreck because of this false report of him having an affair," Uchitel told the Post.
"Despite it being completely untrue, it still must have certainly caused some problems at home — if I was his wife, I probably would have killed him."
"We have never had an affair, talked on the phone or sent any type of text, sexy or not," she told the Post.
"I am really upset about it because I am being portrayed as a homewrecker, when it simply isn't true."
On Friday, TMZ.com reported that "multiple law enforcement sources" said there was a dispute between Woods and his wife before the accident.
Later in the day, TMZ reported that Woods spoke "with a non-law enforcement type" and said Elin Woods confronted him about marital infidelity rumors, scratched his face during an argument and, when he got into the SUV, struck it several times with a golf club.
Woods became "distracted," TMZ said, thought the SUV was stopped and turned around to see what was happening. That was when, TMZ said, the vehicle hit the fire hydrant and the tree.
Saylor said his responding officers did not hear anything about an alleged argument between Woods and his wife.
"Right now we believe this is a traffic crash. We don't believe it is domestic issue," patrol spokesman Sgt. Kim Montes said.
Tiger's troubles
 As the story heads down Rumor Street then turns onto Innuendo Boulevard, look to Yardbarker blogger Sports by Brooks to play traffic cop.
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Woods, coming off a two-week trip to China and Australia earlier this month, is host of the Chevron World Challenge in Thousand Oaks, Calif., which starts Thursday. He is scheduled to have his press conference Tuesday afternoon at Sherwood Country Club. Steinberg said he did not know if Woods planned to play next week.
The Florida Highway Patrol said tapes of the 911 call won't be released until they can be reviewed, probably Monday at the earliest.
The accident report was not released until nearly 12 hours after Woods was injured. Montes said the accident did not meet the criteria of a serious crash, and the FHP put out a press release only because of inquiries from local media.
Montes said the patrol reports injuries as serious if they require more than minor medical attention. Air bags in the SUV did not deploy.
Two troopers tried to talk to Woods on Friday evening, but his wife said he was sleeping and they agreed to come back Saturday, Montes said.
She said charges could be filed if there was a clear traffic violation, although troopers still do not know what caused Woods' SUV to hit the hydrant and the tree.
Damage to the front of Woods' SUV was described as "medium" by Saylor.
"Not real extensive, but not real light," he said.
Woods rarely faces such private scrutiny, even as perhaps the most famous active athlete in the world.
He usually makes news only because of what he can do with a golf club. Few other athletes have managed to keep their private lives so guarded, or have a circle of friends so airtight when it comes to life off the course.
His wife was awarded a $183,250 settlement and an apology from an Irish magazine that published a fake nude photo of her, and Woods received a $1.6 million settlement in a lawsuit against the builder of his yacht - named Privacy - for using his name and photos of the boat as promotional material.
