Tiger Woods lives dangerously in New Zealand

Apr 23, 2006, 23:43 GMT

Wellington - World No 1 golfer Tiger Woods is living dangerously during his visit to New Zealand for his caddie's wedding, according to news reports Monday.

Not satisfied with planning to drive a stock car on a speedway track, he twice threw himself off a 134-metre-high platform above a South Island river on Sunday to do the country's highest bungee jump.

Woods and his New Zealand-born caddie, Steve Williams, who was married Friday, jumped from a cable car held by 380-metre tension wires spanning a canyon over the Nevis River, near the mountain lake resort of Queenstown.

'The jump features about 8.5 seconds of freefall and is seen as one of the world's most daunting challenges for thrill seekers,' the Otago Daily Times reported.

Woods was scheduled to drive a brand new stock car in a celebrity race, arranged by Williams, who is New Zealand's national saloon car champion, Monday night at Huntly, 100 kilometres south of Auckland.

The vehicle, which has a top speed of about 100 kilometres an hour, has a ferocious looking tiger, the golfer's name and an American flag painted on the bonnet and incorporates all the strict safety features of a standard stock car, the New Zealand Herald reported.

'We wouldn't want him to damage his driving arm. We're confident he'll be fine, and he's confident in his ability,' race organizer Red Wootton told the paper.