







Nov. 25 The National Enquirer publishes a story alleging Tiger Woods was having an affair with New York nightclub hostess Rachel Uchitel and that the pair were recently together in Australia where Mr. Woods competed in the Australian Masters. Ms. Uchitel later denies the report.









Nov. 27 Tiger Woods crashes his Cadillac Escalade into a fire hydrant and a neighbour's tree at 2:25 a.m. just metres away from his Florida mansion. Mr. Woods's wife, Elin Nordegren, uses a golf club to smash one of the SUV's back windows, later telling police she was trying to get her unconscious husband out of the vehicle. Mr. Woods is briefly hospitalized.

















Nov. 27 Police try to interview Mr. Woods about the crash. However, Ms. Nordegren asks them to return the next day because her husband is sleeping.

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Nov. 28 Police again plan to interview Mr. Woods, but his agent tells them the golfer and his wife are unavailable until the following day.

Nov. 29 An hour after Mr. Woods's lawyer turns police away from the golfer's home, Mr. Woods releases a statement on his website, taking blame for an "embarrassing" crash, which left him with cuts and bruises. "This situation is my fault, and it's obviously embarrassing to my family and me," he says. "I'm human and I'm not perfect. I will certainly make sure this doesn't happen again." The statement asks that it remain "a private matter".

The Florida Highway Patrol releases a 911 call made by Mr. Woods's neighbour after the crash.









Nov. 30 Citing his injuries, Mr. Woods withdraws from his annual golf tournament, the Chevron World Challenge. "I am certain it will be an outstanding event and I'm very sorry that I can't be there," he says in a statement on his website. He says he will not compete again until next year.

Dec. 1 The Florida Highway Patrol announces that Mr. Woods faces a $164 (U.S.) fine for careless driving and four demerit points against his driver's licence. He will not face criminal charges.

A lawyer for Linda Adams, the neighbour who called 911 after Mr. Woods's crash, says Mr. Woods did not appear to be under the influence and showed no signs of having been in a fight in the minutes after the crash. "None of his injuries looked like he was beat up by his wife," said attorney Bill Sharpe.

Dec. 2 Us Weekly magazine publishes a cover story saying a Los Angeles cocktail waitress claims she had a 31-month long affair with Mr. Woods. The woman, Jaimee Grubbs, says she has proof in 300 text messages and claims she first met Mr. Woods the week after the 2007 Masters, two months before Ms. Nordegren gave birth to their first child.

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The magazine also releases what it says is a voice mail, which was provided by Ms. Grubbs, that Mr. Woods left on her phone on Nov. 24 asking her to remove her name from her phone message.









Three hours later, Mr. Woods acknowledges unspecified "transgressions" that he regrets "with all of my heart" in a statement on his website. "I have not been true to my values and the behaviour my family deserves. I am not without faults and I am far short of perfect. I am dealing with my behaviour and personal failings behind closed doors with my family. Those feelings should be shared by us alone."

Dec. 3 Citing "unforeseen circumstances", high-profile attorney Gloria Allred, who is representing Ms. Uchitel, calls off a news conference about an hour before it is set to begin.

Dec. 7 A report from a police officer who responded to Mr. Woods's accident is released. The report says Mr. Woods was initially unresponsive, lying on the road covered in a blanket and resting his head on a pillow. Two golf clubs were on the ground and there was $235 (U.S.) in the vehicle.

Dec. 8 After receiving a 911 call from Mr. Woods's home at 2:35 a.m., Ms. Nordegren's mother, Barbro Holmberg, is transported to hospital suffering from stomach pain. Ms. Holmberg, a former Swedish cabinet minister, is county governor of Gävleborg in central-east Sweden.

Dec. 9 Beverage maker Gatorade, a division of Pepsi Co., is discontinuing its Tiger Woods drink but says it made the decision before the golfer's car accident led to a media firestorm surrounding his personal life.

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Dec. 10 A woman at the centre of the Tiger Woods philandering scandal, Jamiee Grubbs, appears on the syndicated entertainment show Extra and apologizes to Woods's family for her affair with the golfer.









Dec. 11 A British tabloid, The Sun, reports that Tiger Woods is ready to quit golf to save his marriage. Meanwhile the Tiger blacklash continues, as one of the other woman involved with Woods, Rachel Uchitel, repotedly was upset at the scope of Woods's cheating, and reports of unprotected sex with porn stars, and plans to be tested for sexually transmitted diseases.

Dec. 11 Tiger Woods releases a state ment on his official website saying he is taking an indefinite leave from golf to work on saving his marriage.

"After much soul searching, I have decided to take an indefinite break from professional golf," Woods said. "I need to focus my attention on being a better husband, father, and person."

Dec. 12 Gillette, a major sponsor of Woods, says it will phase the athlete out of its advertisements while he takes time away from golf.

Dec. 13 Accenture Ltd., a global consulting firm, becomes the first major sponsor to completely cut ties with Woods. The company said the golfer is "no longer the right representative" after the "circumstances of the last two weeks."

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Dec. 14 Swiss watch maker Tag Heuer says it will continue its association with Tiger Woods despite the golfer's alleged infidelities because he remains the world's best golfer and Tag Heuer does not care about his private life.

Dec. 15 Reports emerge that Tony Galea, who helped Woods recover from knee surgery during four visits to Florida last year, is being investigated by the RCMP and the FBI.

Dec. 16 Woods is selected as Athlete of the Decade by member editors of The Associated Press, receiving the nod in 56 of the 142 votes cast over the previous month.

Dec. 17 Reports suggest Woods' wife Elin will seek a divorce from the sports star after the holidays. Woods is voted male player of the year by the Golf Writers Association of America.

Dec. 30 Woods had a "fat lip" and no other visible facial injuries when he met with officers from the Florida Highway Patrol four days after the car accident outside his home, a spokeswoman says.

Dec. 31 AT&T announces its sponsorship deal with Woods is over, ending what had been billed as a "multiyear" agreement when it was signed in early 2009. "We are ending our sponsorship agreement with Tiger Woods and wish him well in the future," the company says in a statement.

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Jan. 4 Electronic Arts Inc., which makes Tiger Woods-branded online golf games, says it is standing behind the golfer because he is "still one of the greatest athletes in history" despite his "mistakes" off the course.









Jan. 8 Butch Harmon, Woods's former coach, says he believes Woods could return to the game in March. "Those who say he won't play again are crazy," he tells Sky Sports. "People who say he probably won't play this year, I don't really believe that (either). If you want to put a timetable on it, I'd say you may see him in Florida before the U.S. Masters (in April)."









Jan. 13 General Motors Co. says a deal with Woods that allowed him to have free access to its vehicles ended on Dec. 31









Jan. 15 Tennis star Roger Federer says he's spoken to Woods by phone and predicts he will be back soon "as the wonderful golfer we know."

Jan. 16 Reports suggest Woods has checked into a sex rehab clinic in Hattiesburg, Miss.

Jan. 24: Reports surface that Canadian Emma Rotherham is Woods's 19th mistress.

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Jan. 28 Reports suggest Nordegren may be leaning toward standing by Woods, suggesting her change of heart came after she spent five days with him at the sex rehab clinic.

Feb. 3 Forbes magazine says Woods remains the top athlete brand, with an estimated value of $82-million (U.S.)

Feb 17 A statement on www.tigerwoods.com reveals Woods will speak publicly for the first time in nearly three months on Feb. 19 at a golf course in Florida.

"Tiger plans to discuss his past and his future, and he plans to apologize for his behavior. While Tiger feels that what happened is fundamentally a matter between him and his wife, he also recognizes that he has hurt and let down a lot of other people who were close to him. He also let down his fans. He wants to begin the process of making amends, and that's what he's going to discuss."

Feb. 19 Woods breaks his silence at a carefully orchestrated appearance at a Florida golf club. "I was unfaithful. I had affairs. I cheated. What I did was not acceptable," he told a room of family members, supporters and journalists. Woods said he and wife have started to deal with his infidelities. She is not present at the event. The golfer also addressed rumours he had crashed his SUV because his wife attacked him with a golf club. "For all that I have done, I am so sorry. I have a lot to atone for, but there's one issue I really want to discuss. Some people have speculated that Elin somehow hurt or attacked me on Thanksgiving night. It hurts me that people would fabricate a story like that."









"I have let you down and I have let down my fans ... I was unfaithful. I had affairs. I cheated."

Feb. 24 A top Nike official says the company will continue to support Woods.

Feb. 25 Gatorade confirms it is ending its contract with Woods. PepsiCo Inc. first announced it was partnering with Woods in October, 2007, to develop a branded drink called Gatorade Tiger.

March 3 Steve Williams, Woods's caddy, tells a New Zealand television show that he knew nothing about the golfer's extramarital affairs and was angry with him over his behaviour.

March 16 Woods issues a statement announcing he will make his golf comeback at the Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club in April. "After a long and necessary time away from the game, I feel like I'm ready to start my season at Augusta," he says.

March 21 In his first television interviews since the scandal broke, Woods tells the Golf Channel he tried to stop having extramarial affairs but couldn't. He tells ESPN he is "a little nervous" about the reception from fans at Augusta.

April 5 Woods takes questions from reporters for the first time since his life turned upside down in November. He acknowledges he "acted terribly" and says his fall from grace has shown him what really matters. "Going forward, I need to be a better man than I was before."

Source: Globe and Mail archives