THOUSAND OAKS, Calif - This was in the winter of '97. Tiger Woods was a pro only a few months but long enough to win a tournament that let everyone know of his coming greatness. He was in the interview tent at Riviera for the Nissan/L.A. Open, where there were so many people trying to get in that seats had to be assigned.

A woman reporter from one of those TV gossip programs, the type that deal with celebrities and hearsay, was asking Tiger about his social life. When he dismissed her inquiry, saying, "I don't talk about those things,'' she screamed out, "But you have to. We need to know.''

We didn't then, and now that Woods has been touched by more than a whiff of scandal, if mostly because of unsubstantiated items in the gossip sheets, we still don't.

We want to know, because people seemingly are more concerned about what everyone else does than what they themselves do, but we don't need to know.

Tiger's car crash at the ungodly hour of 2:25 in the morning has produced both speculation on the cause and demands from seemingly everybody with a newspaper, TV network or web site he owes society a complete and candid explanation.

Was he running from an angry wife who had heard about a story in the National Enquirer? Was he guilty of infidelity? Did he just decide like a lot of husbands he just had to get out of the house, no matter what the hour? All those ideas, and more, were put forth by people too eager to say, "Hee, hee, I told you so.''

This is not to indict Woods or to exonerate him. He is young, rich - very rich - and at times away from his wife of five years. To believe Woods, like ballplayers and other athletes, wouldn't be tempted is naïve. Yet belief is not necessarily fact.

Padraig Harrington, the golfer from Ireland who won the British Open back to back and also the PGA Championship, says he reads the gossip cols, "Because it's human nature.'' But he also says that occasionally being the subject of those columns much of the material is fiction rather than fact.

Harrington and 17 other top name players, including U.S. Open winner Lucas Glover, British Open winner Stewart Cink and PGA Championship winner Y.E. Yang are here at Sherwood Country Club, across the Ventura County line from L.A. County, for the $5.7 million Chevron World Challenge. That's the charity even Tiger hosts. Except not this year.

Woods announced because of injuries sustained during the accident he would be "unable to play,'' Nor, because of facial bruises would he even show up to give his annual State-of-the-Tiger address. Leading to more guessing and gossip and snarky observations in the media.

Get out there, Tiger, the critics are yelling in effect, and either confirm or deny all these rumors. But Tiger, who never has felt obligated to give us the Oprah disclosures, has stayed in there. We're not going to be privy to anything except the numbers on his scorecards.

Sexual scandals are not exactly unique for men with a lot of money or a lot of power. There was John F. Kennedy way back when, although discretion was more prevalent in those days, and of course, Bill Clinton and Elliott Spitzer and Mark Sanford. Those guys were politicians, individuals who have more effect on our lives than athletes.

It's imperative to find out the hidden agenda of an elected official whose meanderings might compromise our safety or our freedom. But in the great scheme of things, were any of us in danger because Wade Boggs traveled around the country with his little toy, Margo Adams?

What we have to know about Tiger is what he shot during a round of golf, since his score must be accurate. We don't have to know what time he awoke, what he ate for breakfast and what he does when he's by himself or with others, no matter who they are.

He has his standards, and whether we judge them proper or improper is irrelevant.

The Florida Highway Patrol cited Tiger for reckless driving, fined him $164 and declared their case closed. To others, until Tiger dishes the dirt, and not with a sand wedge out of bunker, the case never will close. And knowing Tiger's history he's not dishing anything.

He's remaining silent and secret. Some tell us that only sets himself up for more accusations and gossip. He doesn't care. It's obvious neither should we.