The carefully managed life of Tiger Woods was turned upside down when news of his early morning car accident eventually reached the outside world, raising far more questions than providing answers.

According to local police, the 33-year-old Woods was injured after hitting a fire hydrant and a tree as he pulled his Cadillac Escalade out of the driveway of his home in Windermere, Florida.

The Florida Highway Patrol said the accident was not alcohol-related, that Woods briefly lost consciousness and that his Swedish wife, Elin Nordegren, used a golf club to smash the rear window of her husband's SUV to get him out.

Although Woods was subsequently released from hospital in good condition after being treated, the car accident remains under investigation and police planned to interview the world's number one golfer later on Saturday.

Media speculation has run rampant across the globe about the crash outside his $2.4 million home in an exclusive subdivision near Orlando.

Where was Woods going at 0225 local time (0725 GMT) in the morning? Why did it take more than 13 hours after the accident before the Woods management team released a short statement about his condition?

Woods, the greatest golfer of his generation and one of the world's most recognisable figures, has carefully guarded his privacy ever since he first burst into the media spotlight.

He has frequently said that anonymity is one of the things he misses most from his days as a student and it is no coincidence that he named his luxury yacht Privacy.

For the next few days and weeks, however, the 14-times major champion will come under closer media scrutiny than ever before - if that is indeed possible.

Ever since he turned professional amid much expectation in late 1996, Woods has been golf's equivalent of the goose that continues to lay golden eggs.

In many ways, he has almost single-handedly ushered in an era of multi-million dollar endorsements and lucrative appearance money over the last decade and a half.

His Afro-American-Asian background has spread the sport to an audience far beyond its traditional image of male, white and middle-class and he has become arguably the world's best known and most marketable athlete.

A winner of 82 tournaments worldwide, Woods ratchets up television ratings whenever he competes and the mere mention of his name in a headline triggers massive interest by newspaper and online readers.

Woods, who has had two young children with Elin since they married in 2004, is scheduled to host his annual Chevron World Challenge tournament in Thousand Oaks, California, next week.

The invitational event, which raises money for the Tiger Woods Foundation, starts on Thursday and Woods is expected to hold a news conference on Tuesday.

As of Saturday morning, tournament organisers said everything was still going ahead as planned.

• The waiting continues with Tiger Woods