MUMBAI: An old rumour dating back to June 2001, is raising its head again and is likely to bring unwanted attention to Bollywood hottie Lara Dutta who is already under media glare for her new relationship with tennis star Mahesh Bhupathi.

The story goes that way back in 2001, a year after India had two beauty pageant winners in Lara Dutta at the Miss Universe and Priyanka Chopra at Miss World, Golf Ace Tiger Woods was dating one of them. The rumour was that our Lara Dutta, who was reportedly dating New York Yankees baseballer Derek Jeter, had also caught the eye of the greatest golfer in the world.

A US newspaper, in a story on Tiger, had the champion golfer denying he was dating “Miss Universe Lara Dutta of India — or trying to steal her from New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter.” The Woods Foundation people, in fact, dismissed the story as being “Nothing more than gossip, probably put out by Dutta’s camp.” And Lara came back to India and fame in Bollywood.

But now that skeletons are tumbling out of Tiger’s woodwork, the gossip that he may have actually dated one of our Indian beauty queens is again gaining momentum. Suddenly Tiger’s denials that were taken very seriously eight years ago are now being re-examined. After all, he has turned out to be quite a champ off the greens. And has swung his club around in every direction!