December 02 2009
Harington Defends Woods Pull Out
Tagged Under : Golf, Padraig Harrington, Tiger Woods
Ireland’s 3 time major winner Padraig Harrington has defended Tiger Woods’ decision to pull out of his own tournament following the world number one’s car accident last Friday. Woods had been set to host and compete in this week’s Chevron World Challenge at Sherwood Country Club in southern California. The American, however, announced his withdrawal from the tournament on Monday, explaining the injuries he had sustained in the one-car accident outside his home near Orlando was his reason for pulling out.
Woods was left seriously injured after his car hit a fire Hydrant and then a tree near his neighbours home. He was last night issued with a traffic citation by Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) officers for careless driving, a maximum fine of $164 and four penalty points on his licence. Harrington, said the interest and speculation surrounding Woods’ accident was natural but that he also understood why the world number one took the decision not to play. ‘He was in a car crash and was injured. That’s the fact that’s causing him to not come here and play,’ Harrington said. He added, ‘It made the front pages of every newspaper at home, which is incredible considering there was a rail crash at the same time in Russia where there were 89 people killed. The front page picture was Tiger Woods.
Woods’ reluctance to speak to investigators and an American tabloid report published early last week speculating the state of his marriage of five years prompted fresh speculation regarding the possible events leading up to the crash and the nature of the injuries he sustained.
In a prepared statement, FHP public affairs officer Sergeant Kim Montes added that there had been insufficient evidence to persuade the Florida State Attorney’s office to seek a search warrant to obtain Woods’ medical records from his hospitalisation.
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