Washington, Dec 1 (DPA) Golfer Tiger Woods has said that he will not play in another tournament this year following a car accident last week outside his home that left him with minor injuries.
Woods was scheduled to participate in his own tournament this week in Thousand Oaks, California, and hold a press conference Tuesday. He has cancelled his appearance at the 2009 Chevron World Challenge.
“I am extremely disappointed that I will not be at my tournament this week,” Woods said in a statement on his website Monday. “I am certain it will be an outstanding event, and I’m very sorry that I can’t be there.”
The statement said Woods will not play again until 2010.
Woods, 33, made no reference to the accident that took place early Friday. He was released from a hospital shortly after the incident following treatment for minor cuts and bruises.
Woods, who is deeply guarded about his private life, has not discussed the details of the single car accident and three times refused to meet the police investigators. He released a statement Sunday saying the situation was “my fault” and “embarrassing”.
“This is a private matter, and I want to keep it that way,” he said.
The circumstances of the accident have become a source of speculation around the world’s most recognisable athlete, including whether he was having a domestic dispute with his wife, Elin Nordegren Woods, and further questions about why he was leaving his home so late at night.
He dismissed the speculation as “unfounded and malicious rumours”.
Driving his black Cadillac sport-utility vehicle, Woods, who was alone, struck a fire hydrant while heading down his driveway in the exclusive, gated Isleworth community near Orlando, Florida.
His wife smashed the back window and pulled Woods from the vehicle. He reportedly was lying on the ground semiconscious until an ambulance arrived.
rounak