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The scandal surrounding golf great Tiger Woods has become a matter of common sense - dollars and sense, that is
$CANDAL.

That's one way to describe what happened to superstar golfer Tiger Woods.

Yesterday, The New Paper reported on claims that he would be paying a seven-figure sum to his wife not to leave him after three women were identified as his mistresses.

Then came news that New York nightclub hostess Rachel Uchitel, the first person identified as his mistress, was allegedly paid US$1 million ($1.39m) to cancel her press conference yesterday.

Ms Uchitel, 34, who has denied having an affair with Woods, was expected to change her story.

According to celebrity website Radar Online, hours before she and her lawyer were due to speak at the press conference, there was a flurry of phone calls between Woods, Ms Uchitel and their representatives.

Unforeseen circumstances

Miss Uchitel's lawyer, Ms Gloria Allred, said the press conference was cancelled "due to unforeseen circumstances" but did not give further details.

"There will be no further statements on this matter," she said.

But well-connected celebrity website TMZ contradicted the claim that Ms Uchitel had been paid off.

One source, which TMZ claimed was well-connected, said: "This was absolutely not about money."

It said there were two reasons why Ms Uchitel cancelled the press conference yesterday - fear and secrets.

Sources said Ms Uchitel became "scared for her safety" because she knows so much about his alleged affairs and a variety of other personal matters.

TMZ said Woods, 33, confided in Ms Uchitel, and she knows specifics about other women, as well as information about Woods' marriage.

The sources were quick to point out that Ms Uchitel does not fear Woods as much as she fears all the other people caught in what is becoming a very large net.

Mistress No.2, Los Angeles cocktail waitress Jaimee Grubbs, is believed to have sold her story for US$100,000 ($139,000).

According to CBS News, Ms Grubbs had financial problems which resulted in court action. It said that in 2007 and 2008, Capital One Bank filed court papers against Grubbs after she failed to pay a credit card balance of US$868.07.

Some reports are now saying that Woods offered her a job and an apartment so they could be together.

But it is unclear if he knew much about her past.

Ms Grubbs also has a criminal record, reported CBS News.

According to court records from the San Diego County Superior Court, Ms Grubbs was arrested and spent a night in jail in San Diego back in July 2004 for shoplifting a coat at a department store.

The third woman said to be involved with Woods, Ms Kalika Moquin, 23, has denied that she had an affair with Woods and has not sold her story.

But that may be small comfort for Woods because his biggest payout may be to this wife, Ms Elin Nordegren. Several US newspapers and news portals, quoting sources, have said that she is being paid US$5 million ($7m) not to leave Woods.

When the couple married in October 2004 at the Sandy Lane resort in Barbados, Ms Nordegren, 29, signed a pre-nuptial agreement reportedly worth US$20 million after 10 years of marriage, not considered a large payout for someone who was already as successful as Tiger was by then.

Now, a lawyer familiar with the couple's negotiations told The Daily Beast that Woods has agreed to shorten the original agreement to seven years from the date of marriage.