Tiger Woods came face to face with his ex-wife Elin Nordegren on Thursday.
It’s been nearly 14 years since the pair announced their divorce after allegations were made that the 15-time major champion had been involved in a string of infidelities, causing much embarrassment to the Swedish model. That humiliation only intensified when he publicly admitted to them.
‘I am deeply aware of the disappointment and hurt that my infidelity has caused to so many people, most of all my wife and children,’ the father of two said on the allegations back in December 2010.
It was, most thought, the beginning of the end for Woods as a public figure. Sponsorship deals evaporated – AT&T, Gillette and Accenture all dropped him.
In the 11 years that have followed, so too has public scandal. The 48-year-old has endured a decline on the course, not helped by his four back operations. But off the course, too, trouble has followed. He was arrested for driving while under the influence and suffered a serious car accident in 2021.
Yet, despite all the scrutiny placed on him, Woods is still here. He has come back from the brink of retirement on several occasions and is remarkably set to make his 26th appearance at the Masters on April 11. His mental robustness has served him beyond the long weekend of any major.
Tiger Woods came face to face with ex-wife Elin Nordegren this week as the divorced couple attended their son Charlie’s high school state golf championship ceremony
Woods was married to Swedish model Nordegren for six years before divorcing in 2010
It’s been nearly 14 years since the the pair announced their divorce after allegations were made that the 15-time major champion had been involved in a string of infidelities
His ability to transcend the sport has been key. He is one of the most successful athletes in the world – both in terms of accolades and finances – with Forbes claiming he currently has a net worth Forbes has a net worth of approximately £872million ($1.1billion).
He is one of the highest-paid athletes of all time, above Cristiano Ronaldo, and holds the record of winning the most events on the PGA Tour (82) – alongside Sam Snead.
And yet it is his life away from the course that has served so many column inches over the past decade and a half. Not that Woods appears to have taken notice.
Once again this week, attention has been drawn to his home life.
Nordegren and Woods have rarely been seen together since their divorce in 2010 after a six-year marriage, but were pictured at their son Charlie’s high school state golf championship ceremony in Palm Beach Florida this week.
Woods was seen awkwardly stood next to the Swedish model, who posed for a picture with her son at the ceremony.
Before going their split, the pair welcomed two children, Charlie, 15, and Samantha, 16 and have shared custody of their children. Despite the reasons behind their break-up, Woods claims that they co-parent well together.
With such a famous father it is unsurprising that Charlie’s own development has been in the public eye in recent years, his five-time Masters winning father turning out to coach and support him, while the pair were seen competing together at the PNC Championship in 2023, with Samantha caddying for her dad. Woods and his son first teed it up at the PNC Championship back in 2020, with Nordegren spotted watching the pair play.
It is a world away from the family dynamic sprawled across the front pages across the globe 14 years ago, when Woods – who was 33 years old at the time – admitted to cheating on his wife and announced a hiatus away from golf.
The pair would subsequently go through a highly-publicised divorce not long after, which reportedly cost around £79m ($100m). However, prioritising the needs of their children, the pair have worked together since the split. They are even good friends – according to the golfer.
Speaking to TIME Magazine back in 2015 Woods gave a insight into their relationship, saying: ”Having the relationship that I have now with her is fantastic. She’s one of my best friends.
Woods shared a warm embrace with his son after reuniting with his former partner
The golfing icon and Nordegren had a daughter, Sam, together as well as their son Charlie
Elin pictured holding Sam as a baby during the years of her marriage to the golfers
‘We’re able to pick up the phone, and we talk to each other all the time. We both know that the most important things in our lives are our kids.’
During the interview, Woods added that if he could go back to 2009 when he was thrust into the public eye following the cheating scandal, he said he would ‘have a more open, honest relationship with his ex-wife.’
‘When it comes down to it, right down to it, it’s just having a more open, honest relationship with my ex-wife when we were married,’ he added. ‘Our frustrations would have come out if we had talked about it and been open and honest with each other. Which we are now, and it’s absolutely fantastic.’
In 2017, Woods again spoke out on his relationship with his children and his ex-wife, writing in his book Tiger Woods – Unprecedented, The Masters and Me: ‘My regret will last a lifetime. Still Elin and I are devoted to our kids, and we have become best friends as we care for them. It’s all about the kids for us.’
Mail Sport previously reported that since their divorce the pair have had an arrangement that Woods was to avoid any public scandal in order to keep his share of the custody. His share of time with the children could have been cut to 30 per cent if he had breached that.
Following his arrest for driving under the influence back in May 2017, reports claimed that Woods had checked into a rehabilitation centre in order to keep shared custody of his children.
Woods had taken a cocktail of prescription drugs when police had found him asleep inside his damaged 2015 Mercedes Benz with the engine running before he was taken to Jupiter police station for processing.
He was arrested at 3am near his home in Jupiter, Florida and spent four hours in a county jail on Monday. The golfer was subsequently charged with driving under he influence with a barely recognisable mugshot of the golf superstar being released. Woods had not played competitive golf since February of that year.
MailOnline previously reported that Woods had failed four sobreity tests and had been taking four prescription drugs – Soloxex [sic], Vicodin, Torix and Vioxx.
In 2017, Woods was arrested for DUI and described by police as ‘confused and woozy’
‘What happened was an unexpected reaction to prescribed medications,’ Woods said in a statement. ‘I didn’t realize the mix of medications had affected me so strongly.
‘I understand the severity of what I did and I take full responsibility for my actions, I want the public to know that alcohol was not involved.’
He also apologized to his family and friends, adding: ‘I expect more from myself too.
‘I will do everything in my power to ensure this never happens again.’
Earlier this week, his former agent Hughes Norton, who orchestrated Woods’ rise to stardom and was the man who helped him go on to earn millions, spoke on the professional golfer’s personability and how he can be ruthless when terminating both business and personal relationships.
‘The solace I can take, which doesn’t provide much, is this: He [Woods] was an equal opportunity zombie with relationships, his swing coaches, his lawyer, the guy negotiated the IMG representation deal, with caddies,’ Norton told Mail Sport, ahead of the launch of his book ‘Rainmaker: Superagent Hughes Norton and the Money-Grab Explosion of Golf, from Tiger to LIV and Beyond’.
‘When it’s over, it’s over. It is the way he terminates relationships with everyone.
‘Whether it’s girlfriends, whether it’s his former golf coaches. It’s ironic, really. In a way he’s so good at confrontation on the golf course.
‘If he’s playing you, he will beat your brains out every single time. But when it comes to confronting things like me and other people that are in his life, he has no social skills whatsoever. It’s maddening, actually.’
Nordegren has since gone on to have a relationship with former NFL player Jordan Cameron and has two children with the ex-Miami Dolphins and Cleveland Browns tight end.
Woods, meanwhile, has had several relationships with other women since his divorce, publicly dating American skier Lindsey Vonn between 2013 and 2015 – with their split reportedly ended on good terms.
But his more recent relationship with Erica Herman, which lasted between 2017 and 2022, brought him back into the limelight for the wrong reasons.
An employee at one of his own restaurants – The Woods Jupiter in Florida – Herman moved in with the superstar, but filed two legal cases against him when he ended their relationship two years ago.
The first involved serious allegations which saw Herman accuse Woods of sexual abuse, claims she later admitted were untrue when she drooped her action last November.
Herman had also filed a £23m ($30m) lawsuit against the golfer’s estate, alleging that he had deceived her in a bid to remove her from his home after their split, but again, it was dropped in 2023.
Last November, Woods’ ex-girlfriend Erica Herman dropped legal action against the golfer
Woods also dated Lindsey Vonn for three years, before they announced a split in 2015
Woods had been involved in a life-threatening car accident in 2021, while dating Herman, which left him needing surgery on open fractures in his right leg and injuries to his foot and ankle.
Woods was driving a rented Genesis GV80 luxury SUV between the five-star Terrranea Resort in Rancho Palos Verdes, where he was staying, to the Rolling Hills Country Club where he was filming for GolfTV.
Reports claim he had lost control of the car on a downhill stretch of Hawthorne Boulevard, which has a slight bend in it, hitting a wooden road sign mounted on a raised and turfed central reservation before suffering the horrific injuries.
He made a stunning comeback just 10 months after the crash to compete with Charlie at the PNC Championship in December 2021.
Yet, reflecting on how difficult his rehabilitation has been, Woods said: ‘Just laying there. I was in a hospital bed for three months.
‘It’s hard to explain how difficult it’s been, to be immobile for three months. I was just looking forward to getting outside, that was a goal of mine.
Tiger Woods was driving ten miles from a five-star resort south of Los Angeles to a golf club where he was due to tee off with Drew Brees when he lost control on a downhill stretch of highway in a ‘horror’ crash
Woods’ SUV was removed from the site on Tuesday afternoon, following the devastating crash in California
Police said the golfer was ‘lucky to be alive’ after he hit a raised central reservation while driving at high speed, smashed through a wooden street sign, splintered a tree, and then rolled his car several times
Woods seems determined to continue playing golf professionally and will play in the Masters
‘There were some really tough times and the pain got pretty great at times but I could see some light which gave me hope. I am on the positive side.’
In recent years following the crash, Woods has kept away from the public eye but has made it clear that he wants to play more regularly on the PGA Tour.
Injuries have slowed his comeback in recent years and Woods notably had to pull out of the Genesis Invitational earlier this season.
But he seems determined to continue playing on the PGA Tour, putting his off-course turmoil firmly behind him. His resilience against the scandals, injuries and criticism is laudable. Not that Woods has ever taken any notice.
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