Woods out of golf contest as 'other woman' flies in to LA

(AP)

Tiger Woods won't be coming to Hollywood any time soon, but the "other woman" linked to his mysterious late-night car crash is already there – holed up with one of America's most headline-prone celebrity lawyers.

The golfer announced yesterday that he had decided to withdraw from the Chevron World Challenge tournament, which he was due to host in Thousand Oaks, on the outskirts of Los Angeles, "due to injuries sustained" in last week's mysterious incident.

"I am extremely disappointed that I will not be at my tournament this week," Woods, 33, said in a statement on his website, adding that he will not be competing again this season. "I am certain it will be an outstanding event and I'm very sorry that I can't be there."

His withdrawal came as a disappointment for spectators, who had paid up to $850 [£530] for a ticket. But it was hardly unexpected: Woods is refusing to even speak to police about the 2.30am crash, and hosting the tournament would have required him to take part in several press conferences.

He cannot, however, exercise such control over Rachel Uchitel, a sometime TV producer, party organiser and New York socialite with whom he was last week accused – by two separate US tabloids – of being involved in an extra-marital affair.

Ms Uchitel, who has so far vehemently denied the reports, is now considering her next move under the watchful eye of Gloria Allred, a high-profile Los Angeles attorney who specialises in representing women who claim to have been wronged by the rich and famous.

Ms Allred made her name during the 1990s as the lawyer for both Nicole Brown's family in the OJ Simpson case, and Paula Jones in her sexual harassment suit against the then-president Bill Clinton.

She is feared in showbusiness circles, and often arranges dramatic press conferences or TV interviews on behalf of her clients, which secure maximum publicity regardless of whether they win or lose the subsequent cases.

Whether Ms Allred will go on the offensive against Mr Woods remains to be seen. The squeaky clean sports star has been at the centre of intense media scrutiny since it emerged that he'd ploughed his SUV into first a fire hydrant and then a tree outside his Florida home in the early hours of Friday.

Mr Woods has claimed sole responsibility for the accident, criticising "false, unfounded and malicious" rumours that it followed a domestic dispute, and maintaining that his wife Elin "courageously" dragged him to safety after smashing the rear window of the car with a golf club.

But he has three times refused to be interviewed by local police, who are sceptical that Ms Nordegren was able to carry out such a physically-demanding rescue, given her slight frame, and wonder if the window-smashing might have contributed to the crash.

Officers yesterday denied reports that they were seeking a warrant to access the golfer's medical records. However they are still seeking to establish whether the facial injuries for which Mr Woods was eventually treated in hospital were suffered during the accident, or during a prior incident.