Tiger Woods Hires Former Bush Aide Ari Fleischer

Tiger Woods has hired Ari Fleischer, the former press secretary to President George W. Bush, to help shape his image as he returns to professional golf, according to the New York Post.

Fleischer runs a company called Ari Fleischer Sports Communications that bills itself as able to "help you handle the bad news and take advantage of the good."

"The way the press treats athletes and sports executives has become increasingly adversarial and conflict-driven," says the company's Web site. "Athletes who are trained to give it all and leave it on the field now face a public and a media that demand more."

Fleischer and Woods have reportedly been planning how to handle Woods' possible March 25 return to golf at the Arnold Palmer Invitational in Orlando.

The former Bush aide worked with Mark McGuire after his reputation was hurt by his 2005 refusal to answer questions from a congressional committee about whether he had used steroids. He also reportedly counts as clients Major Leave Baseball, the NFL and the Green Bay Packers.

College Football's Bowl Championship Series also turned to Fleischer amid a push to eliminate the BCS and replace it with a playoff system.

In response to an e-mail from CBS News, Fleischer said he could neither confirm nor deny Woods' return to golf.