Tiger Woods, bolting his Florida mansion after a reported late-night fight with his wife, was found dazed and bleeding Friday after plowing his SUV into a fire hydrant and a tree.
The world's No. 1 golfer was pulling out of his driveway at 2:25 a.m. when he double-bogeyed the getaway in his 2009 Cadillac Escalade, the Florida Highway Patrol said.
Wife Elin Nordegren heard the crash from inside the couple's $2.4 million home and went to her spouse's aid, police said.
The one-time Swedish model grabbed a golf club, smashed out a rear window in the SUV and helped Woods out of the wreck, said Windermere Police Chief Daniel Saylor.
But TMZ.com reported that a source said Nordegren scratched Woods' face after she went berserk over reports he was seeing another woman and chased him with a golf club, striking his vehicle as he ran from the home.
The Web site said the source talked to Woods after the smashup.
The crash came on the heels of reports in the National Enquirer and Star magazine that Woods had an affair with a New York nightclub hostess - who denied it last night to the Daily News.
Nordegren told cops she ran outside and discovered her husband bleeding from the mouth, with cuts on his lips, police said. She said she bashed out the rear window with the club and helped the 6-foot-1, 185-pound Woods out of the car.
Police arrived to find Woods, drifting in and out of consciousness, lying in the street with his wife watching over him, Saylor said. He was taken to a nearby hospital about 10 minutes later.
Cops said alcohol was not involved, but offered no explanation for where the world's richest athlete was headed alone in the middle of the night.
Woods and Nordegren live in the Isleworth neighborhood with their two children, 2-year-old Sam and 9-month-old Charlie.
The accident was part of a rough week for Woods, who is on the front page of this week's Enquirer under the headline "Tiger Woods Cheating Scandal."
The tabloid claimed Woods was having an affair with Rachel Uchitel - a sexy Manhattan hostess who lost a fiancé in the World Trade Center on 9/11 and was previously linked to married television star David Boreanaz.
Uchitel, a former party planner who has worked as a VIP hostess at swanky nightspots, denied it in a message sent to The News from her Facebook account.
"There is NO relationship with tiger these girls quoted in the story are not being truthful," she wrote.
"I resent my name being slung thru the mud."
The Enquirer story - and a similar story in Star - quoted a woman named Ashley Samson and said she was friends with Uchitel and passed a polygraph.
"I did not say those things to those 'sources' and im not friends with ashley simpson or whatever her name is," Uchitel insisted.
Woods had no comment beyond a statement that downplayed the accident.
"Tiger Woods was in a minor car accident outside his home last night," it read. "He was admitted, treated and released in good condition. We appreciate very much everyone's thoughts and well wishes."
Woods, 33, was taken by ambulance to Health Central Hospital in Ocoee after the crash, about a half-mile off the main drag in Windermere, just west of Orlando.
Florida Highway Patrol troopers went to Woods' home last night to talk to the golfer, but were turned away by Nordegren who said her husband was resting. She asked them to return today and they agreed, spokeswoman Kim Montes told the Orlando Sentinel.
His neighbors in the tree-lined development, with its private golf course and small lakes, include NBA star Shaquille O'Neal.
Police said the air bags on the 2009 Escalade did not deploy, meaning Woods was likely driving slower than 33 mph.
The crash remains under investigation and charges are possible against Woods, who has avoided public controversy in his stellar career. Woods owns 14 major championships, the second-highest total in golfing history, and earns more than $100 million annually from golf and his endorsement deals. He has captured 82 victories worldwide.
Last Saturday, Woods handled the coin toss before the California-Stanford football game. At halftime, the Stanford alum - accompanied by his wife - was inducted into his alma mater's sports Hall of Fame.
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