STRAFFAN, Ireland, Sept 20 - A disgruntled Tiger Woods has lashed out at an Irish magazine for falsely linking his Swedish wife Elin, a former model, to pornographic websites.

Elin Nordegren [southcn.com]

"It's unacceptable and I don't want it to detract from the beauty of this event," the American world number one told a news conference on Wednesday in the build-up to this week's Ryder Cup at the K Club in County Kildare.

"It's hard to be very diplomatic about this when you have so much emotion involved. I just hope it was the right thing to do to speak about it because I don't want this to detract from this event.

"I am very disappointed in how the article was written. Yes, my wife has been a model and she did do some bikini photos but to link her to porn websites and such is unacceptable. I do not accept it and neither does our team."

The September edition of the Dubliner, a listings magazine, carries bogus nude pictures of Elin, as well as a story on some of the U.S. Ryder Cup wives headlined 'Ryder Cup filth for Ireland'.

Part of the article read: "Most American golfers are married to women who cannot keep their clothes on in public. Is it too much to ask that they leave them at home for the Ryder Cup?"

"Consider the evidence -- Tiger Woods's wife can be found in a variety of sweaty poses on porn sites."

CLEAR INCIDENCE

Woods, the game's leading player who married Elin at the Sandy Lane luxury resort in Barbados in 2004, added: "Sometimes they don't let the facts get in the way of a good story and I think this was a clear incidence of that.

"My wife is an extension of me. We're in it together, we're a team and I care about her with all my heart."

In a statement issued later on Wednesday, publishers of The Dubliner acknowledged "the satirical article was inappropriate" and offered sincere apologies to Woods and other Ryder Cup players and their families.

"The publishers believed readers would not be left with the impression that there was any truth in the assertions," the statement added. "If any contrary impression was given, it certainly was not intended."

Asked if the magazine article and pictures would affect his concentration at the 36th Ryder Cup, Woods replied: "You just go out there and play. I have a team mate with me and the Irish people here have been absolutely fantastic."

The three-day Ryder Cup starts on Friday.