First the face and the car, then the image ... Tiger's taking a beating

He is the clean-cut, family-friendly, billion-dollar face of golf.

But allegations of infidelity, and the fallout from an early-morning car crash that left Tiger Woods dazed and bleeding, are causing problems for the star.

The 33-year-old and his supporters were yesterday refusing to talk to investigators about the accident, in which the world's richest athlete drove his Cadillac SUV into a fire hydrant and tree in front of a neighbour's house near his home in Orlando, Florida.

Police said the incident was not alcohol-related, and the car's air bags were not activated, suggesting it was travelling at less than 50km/h.

There were initial fears for Woods' career after early reports he had serious injuries. A police report said Woods was unconscious for six minutes.

But after he was released from hospital in "good condition", questions turned to the unusual circumstances of an accident that came hard on the heels of tabloid news reports about his personal life.

Hollywood entertainment website tmz.com reported Woods argued with his wife, Swedish model Elin Nordegren, about tabloid allegations he had been having an affair, and that she then chased after his car.

Police say officers arrived at the crash scene to find Woods drifting in and out of consciousness and bleeding from the mouth, with a "frantic, upset" Ms Nordegren, 29, standing over him in the street.

She told them she had broken the car's rear window with a golf club and helped her 1.85m, 82kg husband out of the vehicle.

But the reason she left the house carrying a golf club was not clear.

The downmarket National Enquirer reported last week that Woods had been having an affair with party events organiser Rachel Uchitel, a story that could have caused tension in the Woods family home.

Tmz.com was yesterday reporting Woods had told a friend after the accident that his wife had become angry over the affair reports, about 2am on Friday (local time).

The website said the couple argued, and she "scratched his face up".

Woods had said that he then drove away from the house, only to be followed by Nordegren, who attacked his vehicle with a golf club.

"He got 'distracted' and hit the hydrant," the website reported.

Ms Uchitel has since denied the affair rumours.

"Despite it being completely untrue, it still must certainly have caused some problems at home - if I was his wife, I probably would have killed him," she said.

Whatever the truth about the crash, the story has made headlines all over the world.

The New York Times said more than 3200 stories were published in electronic or print form in the 36 hours after the crash.

Officers tried to interview Woods at his home on the day of the crash, but his wife said he was sleeping so they agreed to return later.

Yesterday afternoon, tmz.com was reporting Woods was still refusing to meet investigators.

The only comment from the Woods camp came in the brief statement issued by his office soon after the crash.

It read, in full: "Tiger Woods was in a minor car accident outside his home last night. He was admitted, treated and released in good condition. We appreciate very much everyone's thoughts and well wishes."