New York:
Former US President Bill Clinton had called embattled golf champion Tiger Woods at the rehab where the latter has been receiving treatment following reports of multiple extramarital affairs.
Clinton, who has an experience of rebuilding public image after a sex scandal, was particularly instructive when he made a personal call to Woods offering encouragement, the Golf Digest reported.
"President Clinton spoke with Tiger and wished him well," Clinton spokesman Matt McKenna told People magazine.
The Digest also reported that US President Obama had put through a call to Woods as well. It later issued a retraction saying that Obama did not call Woods.
"Our mistake was due to a misunderstanding between the writer and a trusted source. We regret the error," it said in an email and amended the story online as well.
The golfer's mother Tida Woods who had accompanied him just before his 34th birthday on December 30 on their annual visit with a Buddhist monk said her son had confided that he was struggling with all the upheaval.
"I tell him, 'Tiger, right now you are in a dark hole, and I know it's hard, but you can do it,'" she said.
The golfer disappeared from the public scene after the sex scandal revealing his extramarital affairs exploded following an accident on Nov 27 when Woods crashed his SUV outside his Florida mansion sustaining minor injuries.