Superstar golfer Tiger Woods has been released from hospital after being treated for facial injuries he sustained after crashing his SUV into a tree outside his home near Orlando, Fla.

Local police say that shortly after the crash, the golfer's wife rushed out of their home and used a golf club to smash open the SUV's window so Woods could get out.

A message posted on his website Friday evening says: "Tiger Woods was in a minor car accident outside his home last night."

"He was admitted, treated and released today in good condition."

A police news release originally reported Woods' condition as "serious," but spokesperson Glenn Greenspan told The Associated Press he is in good health.

The news release from police in nearby Windermere said Woods had just pulled out of his own driveway around 2:25 a.m. Friday morning. His Cadillac SUV hit a fire hydrant and a tree soon after.

Police arrived on the scene to find Woods lying on his residential street with his wife, Elin, by his side.

Elin later told officers that when she heard the SUV crash, she "came out and broke the back window with a golf club."

Local newspaper The Orlando Sentinel reported he was taken to Health Central Hospital in Ocoee, Florida, about a 15-minute drive from his home.

Reports say the 33-year-old Woods was treated for facial injuries.

It is not clear what caused him to crash, but police say alcohol was not involved. He was the only person in the SUV at the time. The police news release says charges may be pending.

Florida Highway Patrol told the newspaper that the airbags in the 2009 Cadillac Escalade didn't deploy, which means he was going less than 55 kilometres per hour.

Patrol spokeswoman Kim Montes said that an injury is considered serious if it needs more than minor treatment.

Woods' next tournament is scheduled to start on Dec. 3 in California. He won his last tournament, the JBWere masters, in Melbourne, Australia, on November 15.

Woods, who has won 82 times around the world and 14 majors, lives in a US$2.4-million home in the exclusive Isleworth subdivision near Orlando.

This is at least the second time Woods has been hospitalized this year.

He missed eight months of golf tournaments this year while recovering from reconstructive surgery on his left knee. Even though he failed to win a major tournament, Woods said he considered this a successful year because he did not know how his knee would respond.