TIGER WOODS IN REHAB FOR SEX ADDICTION!

Tiger Woods is being treated for sex addiction at a posh clinic down South, a journalist and author of a book on the affliction said yesterday.
Benoit Denizet-Lewis, a recovering sex addict, said a source with knowledge of the golfer's treatment has confirmed Woods is at Pine Grove Behavioral Health & Addiction Services in Hattiesburg, Miss.

Among Woods' first lessons, Denizet-Lewis said, will be that the oft-questioned addiction to sex is very real.

"We mock or it we say it's not a real addiction," said the journalist, who regularly contributes to the New York Times magazine. "But it's very much the real deal."

The world's No. 1 golfer will not have an easy time of it as he tries to conquer the demons that led him to repeatedly cheat on his stunning wife with multiple women, Denizet-Lewis said. "He's not going to be allowed to go out and golf in the morning," said Denizet-Lewis, author of "America Anonymous: Eight Addicts in Search of a Life," and his new book, "American Voyeur."

"He'll do like everyone else - get up early, eat the same food and go through the same emotions. ... It's a really intense experience," he said.

Denizet-Lewis, who chronicles people grappling with addiction, said Woods will likely feel intense shame at first.

Patients sign a "celibacy contract" that bans all sexual contact - including masturbation - while in treatment. Also included in the pricy program are 12-step meetings, arts-therapy sessions and brutal honesty.

"People tend to come in and be pretty freaked out," Denizet-Lewis said. "You arrive, and suddenly it hits you, 'My God, I'm going to rehab for sex addiction.' "

Despite widespread skepticism about rehab for sex addicts, Denizet-Lewis said the addiction is no less crippling than a bout with booze or drugs.

"You can put down a drink or a drug and not have to see it for a while," he said. "But you can't go anywhere without your genitalia or your brain - those are attached to you."

The woodsy, fenced-in Mississippi clinic, which would not confirm Woods' arrival, is considered among the best at setting sex addicts straight, Denizet-Lewis said.

He added that no one should hold onto the "glib perception" that entering rehab for sex addiction is akin to landing a prize invite to an orgy.

"Trust me, you're not going to score a lot in sex rehab," he said.