Woods is due to start the campaign for his fifth Chevron World Challenge title on Tuesday

Tiger Woods was facing police questions today after officers investigating the champion golfer's mysterious early morning car crash were denied an interview opportunity for the second day in a row.

Florida Highway Patrol officers had been preparing to quiz the world number one yesterday about how he came to crash his car into a fire hydrant and tree outside his luxury home in Isleworth, Florida.

A bloodied Woods, 33, was found in the early hours of Friday lying in the road with wife Elin Nordegren, who police said used a golf club to smash out the back window and help get the golfer out.

He was taken to Health Central Hospital in nearby Ocoee where he was "admitted, treated and released in good condition" later that day, a joint statement by his office and the hospital said.

State troopers wanted to hear the 14-time Major winner's version of events yesterday, said police spokesman Sgt Kim Montes, but last night the officer issued a statement saying the planned interview had not taken place.

The delay came as the authorities prepared to release the tape of the emergency 911 call made after the accident.

Sgt Montes said: "Florida Highway Patrol has received information that Tiger Woods and his wife were not available to be interviewed by state troopers, as we had previously scheduled.

"This announcement came from his agent. Troopers were asked to return (today)."

Earlier yesterday, Sgt Montes had stressed Woods was not being treated differently to other drivers in similar situations having failed to meet troopers visiting his home on Friday.

"A couple of troopers were sent to the hospital to talk to Mr Woods on Friday to get his side of what happened as the driver of the vehicle," she said.

"He had already been discharged so we went by the house and Mrs Woods invited us in and when she went to go back, Tiger was sleeping.

"So we agreed to come back (yesterday), though that's not preferential treatment. We've done that on other crashes."

Sgt Montes said troopers had been due to return to the golfer's house shortly after 8pm GMT yesterday to "give Mr Woods an opportunity to tell us what happened".

She added that the troopers were specifically interested in the particulars of the accident.

"There's a lot of rumours and scenarios that are being thrown out there about all kinds of different things that may have happened but right now the only evidence that we have is that this is just a traffic crash.

"If our investigation takes us in a different direction then we'll let the media know. We will investigate every part of this and that's just a normal part of our investigation to help us figure out why he lost control and struck the fire hydrant and the tree."

Windermere Police Chief Daniel Saylor said Woods' wife used a golf club to smash out the car's window and helped to get the golfer out of the car following the crash.

Ms Nordegren told officers she was in the house when she heard the accident and came outside, he said.

The golfer, who has been married for five years and has two young children, has recently been the subject of tabloid allegations about his private life.

Asked about reports the couple had been arguing in the hours leading up to the crash, police said they were treating the incident as a traffic accident and not a domestic issue.

Sgt Montes said investigators had not yet reviewed the tape of the emergency 911 call made after the accident but the content would be released once those reviews had taken place.

The crash happened just yards outside his £1.5 million home in the gated waterfront community.

He pulled out of his driveway, struck a fire hydrant, and then drove into a tree at about 2.25am local time (7.25am GMT) yesterday, police said.

The FHP report read: "Driver had just pulled out of the driveway at his residence... As V1 began to drive on Deacon Circle, V1 struck a fire hydrant. The front of V1 then struck a tree. The driver was transported to Health Central Hospital. The crash remains under investigation and charges are pending."

The officer used Woods' full name, Eldrick Tiger Woods, and originally noted that his injuries were "serious", alcohol was not a factor and that it was unknown whether Woods had been wearing a seatbelt at the time of the crash.

Hundreds of fans posted messages on Woods' website, telling him to get well soon and expressing their hopes for a speedy return to the golf course.

According to the website, Woods is due to start the campaign for his fifth Chevron World Challenge title on Tuesday.

Woods, the tournament's host, won the event in 2001, 2004, 2006 and 2007 but missed last year's tournament while recovering from knee surgery.

"We do not know if Tiger is playing; we are anticipating a great week of competition," said Greg McLaughlin, the tournament director and president of his foundation.

New Zealand is tied for seventh after the second round of the World Cup of Golf in China

New Zealand is tied for seventh after the second round of the World Cup of Golf in China.

A four under par 68 in the second round foursomes has the kiwi team of David Smail and Danny Lee at nine under, some nine shots behind runaway leader Ireland.

Smail said playing foursomes is tricky as one mistake can cost your partner.

Ireland holds a three shot lead over second placed Sweden.

Ireland's Rory McIlroy and Graeme McDowell who stumbled on the back nine but recovered to retain a three-stroke lead after the second-round foursomes.

The Ulstermen, who shot a 58 in the first round fourballs, finished with two birdies in their last three holes to keep the defending champion Swedes at bay with a four-under-par 68 for an 18-under total.

"Still leading which is great. We started out the day with a three shot lead and we still have a three shot lead," the 20-year-old McIlroy told reporters.

"Apart from the couple of mistakes on the back nine, we could have got a really good score in there. But I think in the end we showed really good character to come back with two birdies on 16 and 17."

Henrik Stenson and Robert Karlsson, looking to make Sweden the first country to win back-to-back titles since the US in 2000, carded seven birdies in the only blemish-free round of the day for a 65 and second place.

Gemba reported to the panel that Olympic sports gave up half their commercial rights for little money and claims the AOC makes 35 per cent profit

THE Australian Olympic Committee is preparing legal action against a company behind the Federal Government's report into the future of Australian sport.

The Crawford report, which last week called for a shift in funding away from Olympic sports towards professional and ''national pysche'' sports, paid for advice from a company part-owned by former AFL star James Hird.

The company, Gemba Group, criticised the AOC, comparing it unfavourably to the US Olympic Committee in its report to the panel of experts.

But, the AOC considered the advice so flawed and the figures so wrong it has initiated legal action against Gemba for misrepresentation.

Coincidentally, nine of the ''national psyche'' sports recommended for increased fundings are listed as clients of Gemba on its website.

Gemba Group is part-owned by former Nike executive Ben Crowe -who was on the Richmond's coaching selection committee - and former adidas executive Robert Mills, who has worked with several AFL clubs on sponsorship.

The input of Gemba adds more AFL input to the Crawford report into the structure and funding of sport.

The panel, appointed by Minister for Sport Kate Ellis, consisted of businessman David Crawford, Sam Mostyn, who is an AFL commissioner, and Colin Carter, a former AFL commissioner. NRL sponsor Mark Bouris left the panel because of filming commitments with The Apprentice, leaving hockey expert Pam Tye as the only non-AFL voice.

The report has come under fire for its stance towards professional sports such as AFL, NRL and cricket, and its recommendation funding be skewed towards professional sports and others such as surf lifesaving and swimming, which are part of the national pysche, at the expense of broad-based Olympic sports.

Gemba says in its report it has three years of working with the government, golf, tennis, cricket, AFL, cycling, hockey, triathlon and netball, but gives no commercial details. But, Gemba's Mills said that because of confidential commercial information, only a dozen pages of the 73-page report had been made public.

''I am unaware of legal action and we were employed because we have a broad cross-section of experience with sport - most of our work in the past 18 months has been with Olympic sports rather than commercial sports,'' said Mills.

Gemba reported to the panel that Olympic sports gave up half their commercial rights for little money and claims the AOC makes 35 per cent profit. But, the AOC says that money is an allocation from the Australian Olympic Foundation (which invested the $99 million it earned in a deal divvying up marketing rights to the Sydney Olympic Games) and is used to pay the costs of preparing the Olympic and winter Olympic teams for competition.

Comparisons to the US Olympic Committee are flawed because the Americans receive 12.5 per cent of NBC's television broadcast rights fees, while the AOC receives nothing from television broadcast rights fees.

Westwood is one of four players with a chance of winning Europe's inaugural Race to Dubai

Lee Westwood must banish the memory of one of his worst displays of the year when he goes in search of the European order of merit title at this week's season-ending Dubai World Championship.
The 36-year-old Briton was all at sea on the greens in last week's Hong Kong Open and finished down the field in joint 54th position on his first visit to Fanling.

Apart from missing the cut in the PGA Championship at Wentworth, the only other time the consistent Westwood has been outside the top 50 this season was when he was tied 61st at the WGC-CA Championship in Florida in March.

"Last week was a bit of an off week, nothing really went for me and I couldn't get anything going," the world number five said on Tuesday.

"I don't think it will have an effect on me. I am fairly optimistic and I have been playing this game long enough not to let one (bad) week bother me."

Westwood is one of four players with a chance of winning Europe's inaugural Race to Dubai.

The Englishman led the money list going into the Hong Kong Open but Rory McIlroy's second-place finish in Hong Kong took the 20-year-old from Northern Ireland more than 128,000 euros ($190,700) clear at the top.

EARTH COURSE

German Martin Kaymer, third on the money list, knows the lucrative first prize of 830,675 euros ($1.24 million) at the Dubai World Championship would guarantee him the order of merit crown while fourth-placed Briton Ross Fisher is also in contention.

The Greg Norman-designed Earth layout at Jumeirah Golf Estates will be making its European Tour debut in Thursday's opening round of the Dubai World Championship.

"I don't know anything about the course but it will be a new experience for everybody so they will be in the same boat as I was in Hong Kong," said Westwood.

McIlroy knows he simply has to finish higher than his three rivals this week to top the Race to Dubai but said his chief concern was victory in the tournament.

"I won't be trying to protect a lead or finish ahead of this guy or that guy," he said. "I want to win. If I win it will take care of everything."

Asked how it would feel to pick up both trophies, McIlroy replied: "It would be fantastic and that's my aim. I was 11-under for the two rounds at the weekend in Hong Kong so I have good momentum going into the final week."

Thaksin planned to visit the famed Angkor Wat temple and may play golf with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen

Fugitive former Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra accused his country’s rulers of “false patriotism” as he delivered a lecture in his new role as Cambodia’s economic adviser Thursday.

The billionaire, ousted in a 2006 coup and living abroad to avoid jail for graft, addressed some 300 members of business and government at Cambodia’s finance ministry amid tensions over Phnom Penh’s refusal to extradite him.

“I see a lot of synergy between your country and mine. What is good for you will also be good for my country. Of course not all my compatriots see it that way right now,” Thaksin said.

“I do not believe those who do not share our vision right now are myopic. Their domestic political compulsions force them to false patriotism. Let’s pray that they too will one day appreciate this partnership for the best,” he added.

Security officials ushered reporters out of the room three minutes into the Thaksin lecture titled, “Cambodia and the World after the Financial Crisis”.

Cambodia outraged Thailand on Wednesday by rejecting its request to extradite Thaksin, saying the charges on which the ousted Thai leader had been sentenced in absentia to two years in prison were politically motivated.

Cambodian Finance Minister Keat Chhon praised Thaksin’s reduction of rural poverty and introduction of universal healthcare in Thailand as “eye-catching policies that distinguished him from his predecessors”.

After his lecture Thaksin planned to visit the famed Angkor Wat temple and may play golf with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, said cabinet spokesman Phay Siphan.

tiger wood's golf area is everywhere

Tiger Woods, who is considered one of the greatest golfers of all time has a new yacht. Can you just thinking about this? nothing that more enjoyable in this world than have what we like everywhere, every time without create any confused.

McDowell finally ended with a 74 to be three off the pace in fifth, alongside Denmark's Anders Hansen and South Africa's Charl Schwartzel

Ryder Cup star Ian Poulter won his first European Tour event in three years on Sunday when he rode his luck to clinch the Barclays Singapore Open by a shot from China's Liang Wenchong.

The Englishman, colour-coordinated in pink shoes, trousers and shirt, played a gruelling 30 holes in the weather-affected tournament, co-sanctioned by the European and Asian Tours, and it was a topsy-turvy ride.

He had seen a five-stroke halfway lead wiped out in just six holes of his third round on Saturday after paying the price for an aggressive approach before a thunderstorm halted play.

But he returned on Sunday morning to complete the round and carded five birdies against two bogeys to remain on course for victory, one head of Ryder Cup teammate Graeme McDowell.

Poulter stretched that lead to two shots by the sixth hole but four bogeys in the next six saw him one behind the Irishman.

The pressure, though, got to McDowell, and three consecutive bogeys allowed Poulter to regain the lead and he hung on, claiming his first European win since the Madrid Masters in 2006 with a 10-under-par 274.

"I missed some shots but that made it interesting," said Poulter, whose victory will push him up towards the world's top 10.

"It was too close for comfort but I am happy to get there."

He said the run of bogeys that almost blew his chance was frustrating but he used them to his advantage.

"I was getting angry," he said. "I played so well in spurts and let easy holes slip. I felt I had to do something and I did."

Poulter now heads to Shanghai for the WGC-HSBC Champions and is confident of carrying over his form against Tiger Woods and a world-class field.

"I'm really looking forward to Shanghai. I haven't been in the winners' circle for a few years and it's really nice to get back."

Liang proved to be his closest challenger with the former Asian number one finishing with a 70 for his best showing in Singapore since he was fourth in 2006.

Liang was happy with his week, despite missing out on the title.

"There are no regrets. Golf is like that. I have to accept how I played," said China's top player, who moved up to second on the Asian Order of Merit behind Thailand's Thongchai Jaidee.

"Overall I am satisfied with how I played all week. It was good that I maintained my form the entire week. I will try to maintain my form for the rest of the year."

McDowell finally ended with a 74 to be three off the pace in fifth, alongside Denmark's Anders Hansen and South Africa's Charl Schwartzel.

Australia's Scott Hend was third, two behind Poulter, along with resurgent compatriot Adam Scott.

Scott only just made the cut but raced up the leaderboard with a third round 65 as he recovered some form after a miserable year of missed cuts.

The former world number three, who won the tournament in 2005 and 2006, carried his new-found touch into the final round with a 68 for his best result since the Sony Open in January.

World number two Phil Mickelson tied for 14th after an inconsistent week marred by too many bogeys. He now heads to Shanghai to renew his rivalry with arch-rival Woods.

Three-time Major winner Padraig Harrington will also be in China after a disappointing weekend in Singapore, where he finished tied 38th to end any realistic hope he had of finishing the year as Europe's number one.