Representatives acting on behalf of Tiger Woods brokered a deal two years ago to bury a tabloid story of an extra-marital affair, the Wall Street Journal reported yesterday.
It said representatives for the golfer acted after the National Enquirer threatened to publish pictures of Woods taken in a parked car with Mindy Lawton, a Florida waitress.
The alleged deal, which the Wall Street Journal claims was made in August 2007, saw Woods give an exclusive cover interview and photo spread to a sister magazine of the Enquirer, Men’s Fitness.
It is the second such claim to be made after the publication of a similar story in the New York Post earlier this month.
American Media, owner of the Enquirer and Men’s Fitness, said descriptions of such a deal were ”inaccurate, false” and ”misinformed”. It claimed the interview, headlined Tiger! and in which a beaming Woods appeared on the cover, was a result of the golfer’s previous link with the interviewer, Roy Johnson.
But Neal Boulton, former editor in chief of Men’s Fitness at the time of the alleged deal, fuelled further speculation after claiming that he left his post because of the incident. ”[American Media CEO] David Pecker knew about Tiger Woods’ infidelity a long time ago — He traded silence for a Men’s Fitness cover,” Boulton told the New York Post.
The claim that there was a cover-up of Woods’s infidelity is the latest twist to a story that began to unravel last month after the 14-time champion’s car hit a fire hydrant near his Florida home.
Official statements from the golfer sought to end speculation that he had been involved in an argument with his wife, Elin Nordegren, at the time of the accident. She was found clutching a golf club after the accident and claimed she had used it to smash the vehicle’s rear window in a bid to rescue her husband from his car.
Since then a series of women, including a New York nightclub promoter and two Las Vegas cocktail waitresses, have claimed to have had affairs with the golfer. Reports that the 33-year-old billionaire also gave out financial gifts have tarnished a hitherto squeaky-clean image.
In a statement this month, Woods said he regretted his ”transgressions” and said: ”I have let my family down”. He has since withdrawn from golfing commitments, amid reports of a possible divorce.
Woods’ commercial interests are also under pressure after the watch brand Tag Heuer confirmed that it would not be using him in US publicity until further notice, saying it had to ”take account of the sensitivity of some consumers in relation to recent events”. —