Woods alleged to have paid British lover $500,000

Tiger Woods may be trying to put his past behind him as he undergoes treatment for sex addiction at an American clinic, but it seems there are plenty more skeletons in his closet.

The golfer has now been linked to yet another mistress by a Sunday paper, taking his tally to 19. The latest to emerge is a 42-year-old British woman, Emma Rotherham, who, it is claimed, was paid $500,000 to keep her affair with the golfer a secret.

The News of the World says that Rotherham, who has lived in Florida for four years, began her affair with Woods in May 2008 when his wife Elin Nordegren was pregnant with their son Charlie, now 11 months old. The paper claims that Woods maintained contact with Rotherham, and paid her hush money, even after details of his other affairs leaked out and he announced he was trying to be a "better husband".

During their relationship Woods would meet Rotherham at his office at least once a week for "early morning sex" before practising his swing, the paper reports. It says that Woods even flew the British mother-of-two to Michigan where he was competing in a tournament last August and put her up in a room reserved for his personal doctor. The couple also had sex after taking the relaxant drug Ambien, it claims.

When the scandal broke, Woods allegedly sent her a text message saying: "Don't contact me. Elin is going through everything." After that Rotherham was put up in the Florida resort of Naples by Woods's entourage before being given half-a-million dollars in cash to keep quiet.

The News of the World quotes a source who said: "Emma was living like someone in witness protection, always looking over her shoulder, and being checked on by two security guys. But Tiger assured her he would sort her out."

Not only is Woods's off-course reputation in tatters, it would seem some of his fellow professionals are beginning to question his worth on the course as well. Spanish golfer Sergio Garcia has suggested that if Woods is missing from this year's US Ryder Cup team as a result of his self-imposed "indefinite" break from the game it won't be a big problem – because it was Tiger's absence from the 2008 squad that enabled the US to win the tournament that year.

"Tiger's absence made a difference," said  Garcia. "It made some of the other players step it up. They wanted to show everyone they could win without Tiger. Maybe when he's there, he's the leader and everyone falls in behind him. Without him, everyone wanted to be the leader. They played amazing golf. You could see a different energy in the team." ·