Troubled Woods birdies in the night to avoid prying eyes

LONDON - With his angry wife apparently set to leave him and major brands deciding to drop him from their ads, troubled celebrity golfer Tiger Woods is trying to let off some of the tension in his life by practising golf - in the middle of the night, reports The Sun.

Woods is playing golf at night to avoid the prying eyes of the media. He started going to a course near his Florida home to clear his head after painful counselling sessions with wife Elin Nordegren. who has decided to divorce him, reports the newspaper’s website thesun.co.uk.

“He goes after dark so he can’t be seen. For him, what’s more therapeutic than hitting golf balls?” said a neighbour.

Tiger, 33, is cracking up after Elin insisted she’d go “100 percent” for a divorce over his alleged affairs with as many as 14 women. His troubles deepened when one woman linked to him - Theresa Rogers, 48 - claimed his marriage was “a sham” and that he only wed Elin to boost his image.

A source close to the couple said Tiger is “doing everything he can to save his marriage” since news of his infidelities emerged last month, according to the TMZ website.

But angry Elin, 27, who could get half his half of his 350 million pounds (over $564 million) fortune, is returning to Sweden for Christmas with their two kids.

More humiliation for Tiger came as his image was removed from Florida publicity shots for the Arnold Palmer Invitational, which he has won six times. Swiss watchmaker Tag Heuer announced it was dropping him from its US ad campaigns.

Also, management consultancy firm Accenture announced that it would discontinue its sponsorship agreement with the scandal-tainted golfer. Gillette has also axed a 12 million pounds (about $19.4 million) marketing deal with him.

Pepsi bosses have also held talks about their 60 million pounds five-year contract with Woods since ditching the Gatorade Tiger Focus drink, and US phone giant AT&T is “evaluating” its link with the star.