For seemingly the first time in his stellar career, Tiger Woods is losing control.

That’s about the simplest way to describe the public relations and crisis communications debacle that has followed his late-night fender-bender.

Instead of getting in front of what could (should) have been a non-story, his name – from a reputation management perspective – is as bent as the bumper on his Escalade.

Tiger Woods has lived a storied life – on the golf course and in the public arena. His father groomed Woods from an early age, helping him master his game on the course – and with appearances with the likes of Merv Griffin. He’s earned near-countless trophies and a billion in earnings and endorsements.

So how is it that the current story of Woods’ “accident” outside his Orlando, Florida-area home has spun so wildly out of his – and his handlers’ – control?

Woods himself let this story spin out of control – and made no timely attempts to reel it in.

It began with police and hospital reports that he was seriously injured. His first move should have been to call his agent, Mark Steinberg (who eventually chimed in Sunday afternoon) to get a crisis management team on board.

This is called “getting in front of the story.” Handlers grab the dog by the collar, instead of what became a tiger by the tail. The goal is to dispel rumor mongers’ fodder and nip misstatements before they make it into the news cycle — and NewsChopper2 is hovering above the driveway.

The P.R. team should have issued a statement before sunrise Sunday saying Woods was fine (that he was not “seriously” injured as was reported in the media), and recovering from injuries from a minor, one-car accident outside his home.

They should never have let his high-profile attorney, Mark NeJame, so publicly keep Woods from police investigators. Sure, not speaking is a defense tactic. But when NeJame was issuing statements to the media it shows that the defense team is handling crisis communications. Simply put, repeatedly declining police interviews makes Woods seem like he has something to hide.

What’s Woods hiding? Why was he leaving at 2:30 in the morning? Why did he lose control of his vehicle? Are there domestic issues between himself and wife Elin Nordegren?

We don’t know. Frankly, it’s none of our business – except as a lesson in crisis management. But with earnings topping $1 billion – much of which has come from sponsor endorsements built upon his name and reputation, the name “Woods” comes with a target. His name hits the pages or websites and people take notice. It’s a beast he’s created and managed – and managed to let slip in the past few days.

You shouldn’t be reading this blog. In fact, the only thing we should be writing about regarding Tiger’s car crash – if anything – is how he’s healthy, fine and in California for his annual fundraiser tournament, and then maybe off for some R&R on his 155-foot yacht, “Privacy.”

It’s not too late to grab hold of this story. Truth be told, in six months, this likely all will be behind him – as were the stories of Kobe Bryant’s assault trial and other high-profile cases.

But to put it behind him, Woods and his team have to get in front of the story and start polishing his reputation like one of those trophies on his mantle.