As enormous as that figure sounds, earlier reports were even more massive:

“Yesterday, Gossip Cop struck down rampant rumors that put Nordegren’s haul at close to $750 million.
The lower sum comes from what a source “with direct knowledge of the terms” has told TMZ.
Nordegren will also reportedly receive child support.”

Perhaps now that this whole ordeal is finally heading towards the finish line, people will finally be able to focus on Tiger’s golf. Right? Right?

Until now, Tiger has largely avoided controversy. After a ’97 GQ article revealed his fondness for telling dirty jokes, he became even more guarded when talking to the press. He’s a fine-tuned media machine, giving concise, bland responses that offer no room for misinterpretation. He doesn’t try to charm the public; simply because we love him regardless — what he does on the golf course makes up for his lack of warmth. Before this past weekend, his only public shortcomings were cursing and throwing clubs on the golf course. Other than that, we know very little about Tiger’s personality. We know even less about his supermodel Swedish wife, for that matter. I don’t think I’ve ever heard her utter a word, and that’s probably not by chance. Remember when the shipbuilding company he commissioned to build his yacht used his name and photos of him and the yacht as promotional materials without his permission? He sued them — and won. Somewhat humorously, he named the boat, “Privacy.” Duly noted.

This is also unfamiliar territory for the media that covers him. Even though many columnists are prodding Tiger to tell the truth, they’re doing it for selfish reasons — they want to stop writing about it, too. It makes their jobs a lot tougher if one of the greatest athletes of any generation with a pristine reputation turns out to be a(n) (allegedly) womanizing jerk who is (literally) above the law. The media is so enamored by Tiger that even if he were to spit in an old lady’s face or slap a child taking a picture of him in the middle of his backswing, many writers would still probably find a way to compliment him on his competitive drive.

And the vaunted Tiger Woods PR Team — one that had successfully kept his private life under wraps for so long — failed miserably this time around. Most likely because they’re having as much trouble unearthing the truth as everyone else is. It’s tough to spin things when the facts are so blurry. It wasn’t until 12 hours after that we first heard he was in an accident and initial reports stated he was “seriously injured.” Then, the information we received from various news outlets, including TMZ, kept changing and it’s only become more absurd – mostly because Tiger has yet to hold a formal press conference on his turfed-up front lawn with a bandaged face. On Sunday, Florida Highway Patrol troopers went to the Woods’ residence for a scheduled interview, only to be turned away. For the third time. To complete the stonewall, the FHP was then contacted by Mark NeJame, a high-profile criminal defense attorney known as the “Johnnie Cochran of Orlando,” who informed them he was now representing Tiger.

But Tiger might not be able to hide for much longer. According to TMZ, sources claim the FHP is now seeking a search warrant to procure medical records from the hospital that treated Tiger to determine whether his injuries were sustained from his car accident or domestic violence. While there are still many questions left unanswered, Tiger has made one thing very clear: he’s not talking. Unless you count the robotic PR message he posted on his website Sunday afternoon as “talking.”

The traditionally conservative golf media and Tour are, not surprisingly, skittish about reporting this story. Writers from the major golf outlets have treaded very carefully with their coverage. Golf Digest, one of the largest golf publications in the world, has only posted AP articles and no personal opinions from their columnists on their website — for good reason, considering they are one of Tiger’s sponsors. But even in the worst case scenario — that he did have an affair with Rachel Uchitel; that he was fleeing his house at 2:25AM after a fight with his wife; and that the accident was caused because she was chasing him with a golf club — his sponsors will still pay him lots of money to sell their products and fans from around the world will still follow his every move on the golf course. In the end, with whatever shred of truth about this story eventually leaks out, the only thing that it will prove is that Tiger is, in fact, larger than life. We just have to deal with it.

Update - Florida Police have announced Tiger Woods will be issued a careless driving citation for the crash outside his home last week, Florida Highway Patrol claimed earlier today. The spokesperson also claimed that there would be no allegation of domestic abuse on either side. – Colby Hall

Stephanie Wei lives in NYC. She graduated from Yale University in 2005, where she majored in History and was a member of the Women’s Golf Team. She blogs regularly about golf at weiunderpar.com.

(image via The Other Brooks Brother)

Now TMZ.com has blown the reported version of events wide open – alleging domestic violence led to the injuries, and the car crash was used as a cover up.

Early this morning, TMZ reports Woods and his wife Elin Nordegren were involved in a physically violent fight:

We’re told he said his wife had confronted him about reports that he was seeing another woman. The argument got heated and, according to our source, she scratched his face up. We’re told it was then Woods beat a hasty retreat for his SUV — but according to our source, Woods says his wife followed behind with a golf club. As Tiger drove away, she struck the vehicle several times with the club

He hit the fire hydrant after becoming distracted, according to TMZ. The reason he appeared “semi-unconscious,” as the Windermere police chief said on CNN last night (video below), is explained by TMZ as because Woods “had been taking prescription pain medication for an injury.”

Before we go any further, it should be noted TMZ has a history of being completely right sometimes about their exclusive breaking stories – and sometimes gets it completely wrong.

The timing of the accident was already suspicious, coming just days after the usually flawless PR record of Woods was being mired in some level of controversy. The National Enquirer reported Woods was having an affair with New York club hostess Rachel Uchitel – a storyline that this morning has become part of the Associated Press‘ story. The AP reached out to Uchitel, and she denied the affair, but this quote doesn’t exactly sound like a denial: “I resent my reputation is getting completely blasted in the media…Everyone is assuming I came out and said this. This is not a story I have anything to do with.”

So how did this story’s topspin land it away from the truth? Jason Whitlock, columnist for FoxSports.com and frequent contrarian sports writer, tweets, “U think Tiger is real happy w/ESPN’s ‘seriously injured’ report that blew this thing out of proportion? Worldwide misleader.”

If ESPN initially reported “seriously injured” while simultaneously buying 100% the Woods spokesperson party line, as well as the public statements from the police, they have changed their tune a bit. Bob Harig‘s column is getting front page play, which questions what happened in the accident, but the majority asks what would happen if the injury were more serious, and not what would happen if the truth were more hurtful to Woods’ reputation. ESPN is reporting Woods will meet with police again today – more details are likely to emerge. If TMZ has any of the story right, this story will bubble up to mainstream media status very shortly.

Here’s the CNN report from Anderson Cooper 360 last night:

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