Padraig Harrington has defended Tiger Woods' decision to skip his own tournament following the world number one's car accident last Friday.
Woods had been set to host and compete in this week's Chevron World Challenge at Sherwood Country Club in southern California, an annual event which benefits the Tiger Woods Foundation.
The American, however, announced his withdrawal from the 72-hole tournament on Monday, citing the injuries he had sustained in the one-car accident outside his home near Orlando, Florida.
Woods, 33, was left unconscious and needing hospital treatment for facial lacerations after his Cadillac Escalade hit a fire hydrant and then a neighbour's tree.
He was issued with a traffic citation on Tuesday night by Florida Highway Patrol officers for careless driving, a violation which carries a maximum fine of $164 and four penalty points on his licence.
Florida Highway Patrol said the citation ended their investigation and there would be no criminal charges in connection with the accident.
Ireland's three-time major winner Harrington, at Sherwood CC to compete in the 18-man field, said the interest and speculation surrounding Woods' accident was natural but that he also understood why the world number one took the decision not to play.
"He was in a car crash and was injured. That's the fact that's causing him to not come here and play," Harrington said.
"It made the front pages of every newspaper at home, which is incredible considering there was a rail crash at the same time in Russia where there were 89 people killed. The front page picture was Tiger Woods.
"It's a phenomenal story. The spotlight is massive. It's pretty legitimate for people to be discussing it and talking about it, but we just don't know what the facts are.
"We do know there was a car crash, we do know he was injured. I'm sure if I was unconscious for six minutes I wouldn't be playing golf the following week, it wouldn't be high on the agenda."
Woods' reluctance to speak to investigators and an American tabloid report published early last week speculating on the state of his marriage of five years prompted fresh speculation regarding the possible events leading up to the crash and the nature of the injuries he sustained.
© Press Association