Posted Monday November 30, 2009 9 months ago
Tiger Woods of the U.S. tees off on the 12th hole in the final round of the Australian Masters golf tournament in Melbourne in this November 15, 2009 file photo. REUTERS/Mick Tsikas
By Mark Lamport-Stokes
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Tiger Woods will not play in this week's Chevron World Challenge, which he has hosted in Thousand Oaks, California, for the past nine years, because of injuries sustained in a car accident.
The American world number one has dominated news headlines since suffering facial cuts and briefly losing consciousness after crashing his SUV outside his Florida home in the early hours of Friday morning.
"I am extremely disappointed that I will not be at my tournament this week," Woods, 33, said in a statement on his official website (http://web.tigerwoods.com).
"I am certain it will be an outstanding event and I'm very sorry that I can't be there."
Britain's Graeme McDowell will replace four-times winner Woods in the 18-strong field for the $5.75 million event, which starts at Sherwood Country Club on Thursday.
Woods, whose World Challenge raises money for his charitable foundation, also canceled a news conference he had been scheduled to hold on Tuesday in the build-up to the tournament.
He added he would not return to golfing action until 2010, although he had not been scheduled to compete anywhere else in the world for the rest of this year.
GREATEST GOLFER
The greatest golfer of his generation and arguably the best of all time, Woods struck a fire hydrant and a tree outside his mansion in Windermere, Florida at about 2:25 a.m. EST on Friday.
He was subsequently released from hospital in good condition after being treated and said later he had some cuts and bruising and felt "pretty sore."
On Sunday, he took responsibility for the accident and praised his Swedish wife Elin for acting courageously to help him get out of his SUV. But he again canceled an interview with authorities investigating the incident.
Woods, a winner of 14 major titles and 82 tournaments worldwide, said he wanted to keep the crash details private.
However, a Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) officer said charges were still pending.
Woods ended his 2009 U.S. PGA Tour campaign with six victories in 17 starts, posting 14 top-10 finishes for overall earnings of $10,508,163. He also won the season-long points race for the FedExCup, plus the $10 million bonus.
According to Forbes magazine, his FedExCup success in September had made him the first billionaire athlete.
One of the world's most recognizable figures, Woods has lucrative endorsement deals with Nike, AT&T, Gillette and Gatorade and he ratchets up television ratings whenever he competes.
(Editing by John Mehaffey)
blog comments powered by Disqus