Billionaire earner Woods suffers facial cuts in crash at Florida home

GOLF: MIAMI, Nov 28, 2009 - Tiger Woods suffered minor injuries in a single vehicle car smash Friday in which his wife used a golf club to break a window and rescue him.

Woods was treated and released from a Florida hospital for cuts and bruises to his face following the accident outside his home, said the Florida Health Central Hospital in a statement.

"Tiger Woods was in a minor car accident outside his home last night. He was admitted, treated and released today in good condition," the hospital said. The golfer's website also issued the same statement.

The Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) said Woods, 33, crashed into a fire hydrant and then drove into a tree after leaving his property early Friday in the Isleworth community in Windermere, a suburb of Orlando.

The accident happened at around 2:25 am, FHP spokeswoman Kim Montes told AFP.

The FHP had said earlier Woods was transported to the hospital in "serious condition," but Windermere Mayor Gary Bruhn told CNN that Woods suffered "some facial lacerations" in the accident.

Florida police said Woods was out of the vehicle and conscious when they arrived on scene and his wife Elin was with him. She told police she had to break a window of the car by using a golf club after hearing the crash from inside the house. He reportedly was bleeding from cuts to both lips when police arrived on scene.

Superstar Woods, a 14-time major winner, had been set to play his last tournament of the year at the Chevron World Challenge at Thousand Oaks, California, December 3-6 - an event he hosts annually.

The crash was still under investigation and charges could be pending, the FHP said, adding that that the incident was not alcohol related.

According to Forbes business magazine, Woods is the first athlete to have broken through the billion dollars earnings mark.

Aged just 25, he became the first man to win the US Open, the British Open, the USPGA and the Masters on a roll to make him the first simultaneous holder of all four major championship titles at the same time.

Earlier this month, Woods landed the Australian Masters but had returned home for a fortnight's break prior to playing in the World Challenge next week.

This year he landed eight titles after eight months out of action recovering from reconstructive surgery on his left knee, but failed to win a major.

Woods is married to former Swedish model Elin Nordegren and the couple have two children, Sam Alexis, born in 2007, and Charlie Axel, born earlier this year. AFP