Tiger's wife used golf club to free him from crash

Tiger Woods was injured in a car accident outside his Florida mansion, and a local police chief said his wife used a golf club to smash out the back window and help get the world's No 1 golfer out of the SUV early on Friday (local time).

Woods 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 as he pulled out of his driveway at 2:25 a.m.

Windermere police chief Daniel Saylor told The Associated Press that officers found the 33-year-old Woods lying in the street with his wife, Elin, hovering over him.

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."

Woods had lacerations to his upper and lower lips, and he had blood in his mouth, Saylor said.

The chief said Woods was in and out of consciousness when his two officers arrived. He said the officers held Woods to the ground and "when he woke up, he tried to get up and lost consciousness."

He said officers treated Woods for 10 minutes until an ambulance arrived.

The Florida Highway Patrol said Woods was alone in his 2009 Cadillac when he pulled out of his driveway from his mansion at Isleworth, a gated waterfront community just outside Orlando.

The patrol reported Woods' injuries as serious, although Woods spokesman Glenn Greenspan issued a statement that Woods was treated and released.

The patrol said alcohol was not involved, although the accident remains under investigation and charges could be filed.

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 on Woods' Web site.

Woods, coming off a two-week trip to China and Australia this month, is host of the Chevron World Challenge in Thousand Oaks, California, which starts on Thursday. He is scheduled to have his press conference on Tuesday at Sherwood Country Club. Steinberg said he did not know if Woods planned to play next week.

The accident report was not released until nearly 12 hours after Woods was injured. Patrol spokesman Kim 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.

Investigators still have not had a chance to speak to Woods, but when they do, "we will ask him everything," Montes said. "We just haven't had a chance to do so because he was being medically treated."

Montes 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.

Woods' $2.4 million home is part of an exclusive subdivision set on an Arnold Palmer-designed golf course and a chain of small lakes. The neighborhood, which is fortified with high brick walls and has its own security force, is home to CEOs and other sports stars such as the NBA's Shaquille O'Neal.

The Orlando Sentinel reported that an orange and white barricade sat on top of a hole in front of Woods' home. About 10 feet (3 meters) away, there was a tire track near an oak tree in his neighbor's yard. The tree had a few scuff marks but was largely unscathed.

Woods has won 14 majors and 82 times around the world, most recently at the Australian Masters on Nov. 15.

He won six times this year after missing eight months recovering from reconstructive surgery on his left knee. Even though he failed to win a major, Woods said he considered this a successful year because he did not know how his knee would respond.