TIGER'S NOT A LION CHEETAH

TIGER Woods had a furious row with his wife Elin over another woman seconds before he crashed his car.

Elin is said to have smashed Woods' window with two golf clubs after flying into a rage over false reports he had a fling with New York party girl Rachel Uchitel, who denies the rumours.

Tiger and Elin yesterday refused to talk to cops at their house.

SEE CRASH PHOTOS

Glamorous Rachel Uchitel - pictured far right - revealed her shock over the accident and said: "We have never had an affair. God forbid that Tiger got into a car wreck because of this."

False rumours that Woods had been seeing the New York socialite are said to have sent his wife Elin Nordegren into a rage after they celebrated Thanksgiving at their £1.7 million Florida mansion.

And as Woods, 33, left the alleged bust-up in his Cadillac in the early hours of Friday he hit a fire hydrant and then a tree and was knocked unconscious for SIX MINUTES.

When cops arrived at the scene they discovered Swedish ex-model Elin, 29, had smashed his rear window with TWO GOLF CLUBS. Woods was lying dazed on the ground with cuts around his mouth and his wife was "hovering over him".

The blonde beauty, described as "very upset" told them she had used the clubs to break her way into the car to drag her husband out because the doors were LOCKED.

Police sources later told the respected TMZ website - who first broke the news of Michael Jackson's death - that there had been a "domestic issue" prior to the accident.

That is believed to have been sparked by wild reports of a romance between Woods and 34-year-old Rachel which emerged last week.

The leggy brunette was photographed at the same Melbourne hotel where the sports star was staying while playing in the Australian Open. A lawyer for Tiger has "vehemently" denied allegations of any affair.

It was reported last night that Rachel has hired tough celebrity lawyer Gloria Allred. Rachel was said by TMZ to be considering suing US tabloid the National Enquirer for defamation. Allred once represented Paul McCartney's ex-wife Heather Mills.

Former party planner Rachel became a celebrity after she lost her fiancé Andy O'Grady in the 9/11 World Trade Center attacks. Her grief-stricken face - as she clutched a missing poster for her lost love - became an iconic image of the atrocity.

Rachel wed Wall Street trader Steven Ehrenkranz in 2004 after a whirlwind romance but it lasted only four months.

Since then she has transformed herself into a New York VIP party hostess and has been linked to a string of men including nightclub entrepreneur Jason Strauss and married actor David Boreanaz, star of Sky TV's Bones. Last night Rachel told how "very concerned" she was to hear about the crash and strongly denied the rumours.

"Despite it being completely untrue, it still must have certainly caused some problems at home - if I was his wife, I probably would have killed him," she said. "This is nothing to do with me. The claims are completely false.

"We have never had an affair, talked on the phone or sent any type of text, sexy or not. I'm really upset about it because I'm being portrayed as a home- wrecker, when it isn't true."

Woods, who is worth £600million, was recovering at his Florida home yesterday after spending just under 12 hours in hospital. His agent Mark Steinberg said the golfer was fine and the crash was dismissed as a "minor incident".

But last night speculation was growing in the rich gated community where Wood lives about the circumstances that led up to him losing control of his £35,000 black Cadillac Escalade SUV just a few feet from his home at less than 33mph - the speed when airbags would have inflated. Elin said she rushed outside the house after hearing a crash and used golf clubs to smash the rear window and drag her husband out on to the road.

It is not known why Woods hit a bright yellow fire hydrant that has been at the bottom of his garden for over a decade. Or at what point Erin decided to use the clubs.

Last night it was reported she had ALTERED her story from the original account she gave the first officer to attend the scene.

The police department said Tiger's wife went outside, saw that her husband had hit a fire hydrant and a tree and rushed back inside the house to fetch a golf club to use in her attempt to free him from the vehicle.

Swerved

But sources now claim Elin told the Florida Highway Patrol another version that did not involve her going back in the house.

TMZ.com claimed: "He crashed because he wasn't paying attention to where he was going. Why, you might ask?"

See photos of crash scene

Last night in America there was speculation Woods had swerved and crashed to avoid his wife after the bust-up.

"There is sooooo much more to this story," said one comment to the local Orlando Sentinel newspaper. "Why was he out at 2:30am? Why was she walking around with a golf club at 2:30am?"

So far cops have only revealed they responded to a 911 call and arrived to find Woods on the ground with his wife over him.

Officers Jason Sipos and Branson McDonald treated the star for ten minutes before an ambulance arrived.

Police chief Daniel Saylor said Woods had been out cold for up to six minutes. "There was Tiger Woods laying on the ground in front of the vehicle, with his wife over him rendering first aid," he said. "He was in and out of consciousness with lacerations to his upper and lower lip.

"He was mumbling but didn't say anything coherent. His wife had broken out the back window with a golf club to get into the vehicle and pull him out. She used two golf clubs."

Interviewed on CNN, Saylor was unable to explain why Elin had used the clubs. He agreed the car was not badly damaged and was driveable.

Saylor said: "She explained to my officers that the doors were locked and she could not gain entry. She used the club to smash the window and gain entry to unlock the door."

Woods - believed to have hit his head on the steering wheel - was taken to the Health Central Hospital in Ocoee, ten minutes from his home. He was released 12 hours later. Apparently, no blood was found on the wheel. Florida Highway Patrol, the agency investigating the crash, first sent two officers to speak to Woods while he was in hospital.

Officers also tried to speak to him on Friday night but his wife said he was "resting". The crash is still under investigation and a FHP spokesman said charges are pending.

See photos of crash scene

Tiger, the world's first sports dollar billionaire, has avoided any scandal since he took the golf world by storm over 13 years ago.

He met Elin eight years ago - she was nanny to European Ryder Cup player Jesper Parnevik's children.

Woods and Elin were married in 2004 in a £1million ceremony in Barbados. They have two children, Sam, aged two and Charlie, aged eight months.

Yesterday Elin left the mansion with her face partially hidden behind over-sized dark shades and tousled hair.

Driving a silver version of the same Cadillac Escalade her hubby crashed in, the former model was accompanied by the family pet, a Briard sheepdog.

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