Woods, wife Elin officially finalize divorce in Fla.

August 24, 2010

CBSSports.com wire reports
Aug. 23, 2010

Tiger Woods and his Swedish-born wife officially divorced Monday, nine months after his middle-of-the night car crash outside his home set off shocking revelations that the worlds most famous athlete had been cheating on his wife.

“We are sad that our marriage is over and we wish each other the very best for the future,” Woods and Elin Nordegren said in a joint statement released by their lawyers.

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How will it affect Woods play? Hard to say, but it cant possibly be any worse. Read >> Related links Woods, Nordegren issue statement on divorce TMZ.com: Woods-Nordegren divorce papers

The divorce was granted in Bay County Circuit Court in Panama City, Fla., about 375 miles away from their Isleworth home outside Orlando. The couple had married in October 2004 in Barbados and have a 3-year-old daughter, Sam, and a 19-month-old son, Charlie.

The marriage was described in court documents as “irretrievably broken” with no point in trying to reconcile. Terms of the divorce were not disclosed, except that they will “share parenting” of their two children.

“We love Elin, and we are so proud of the grace and strength she has shown during this difficult time,” said Nordegrens father, Thomas Nordegren, a talk show host at national broadcaster Swedish Radio. “We know that she will come out of this even stronger and has a bright future in front of her.”

The divorce was finalized by Bay County Circuit Judge Judy Pittman Biebel during a brief hearing in a conference room in her chambers, according to Biebels judicial assistant Kim Gibson. The hearing was very brief, only about five or 10 minutes. Both Woods and Nordegren were present, along with their lawyers, Gibson said.

“I dont comment on active cases,” Thomas J. Sasser, Woods divorce attorney, said. When asked why they chose to file in Panama City, Sasser said only it was a joint decisi which includ referred all questions to the statement.

Woods agent, Mark Steinberg, declined comment when asked if they had a prenuptial agreement or terms of the settlement. “Were not commenting beyond what was in the release,” he said.

Nordegrens mother, Barbro Holmberg, also declined comment.

The petition said the marriage was “irretrievably broken” a restored.

The couple signed a marital settlement agreement on July 3 and July 4, the weekend of the AT&T National outside Philadelphia, where Woods failed to break par in a PGA Tour event for the first time in 11 years.

The sordid sex worth millions of dollars, and he lost his image as the gold standard in sports endorsements. A month after the scandal became public, Woods spent two months in therapy at a Mississippi clinic with hopes of saving his marriage.

“While we are no longer married, we are the parents of two wonderful children and their happiness has been, and will always be, of paramount importance to both of us,” they said in the statement. … “The weeks and months ahead will not be easy for them as we adjust to a new family situation, which is why our privacy must be a principal concern.”

According to court documents, Woods completed the American Safety Institutes four-hour course on “Parent Education and Family Stablization” on July 10, the day before he left to play the British Open at St. Andrews. Woods, who had won the previous two times at St. Andrews by a combined 13 shots, tied for 23rd.

Nordegren completed her four-hour class through FloridaParentingClass.com on Aug. 16, the start of the PGA Championship.

Documents also show the two children lived at th Woods crashed his SUV and that Ms. Nordegren had moved out to a nearby residence since then.

Woods is to play this week at The Barclays, where he needs a good performance to extend his PGA Tour season and try to show he is worth picking for the Ryder Cup. It will be his first tournament as a single man since he finished ninth in a World Golf Championship in Ireland in October 2004.

Since returning to golf at the Masters, Woods has not come close to winning a tournament. He tied for fourth in the Masters and in the U.S. Open, both times taking himself out of contention early in the final round.

One example of how the impending divorce has affected him came last month when he played in a charity pro-am in Ireland, which ended on Tuesday. Instead of staying overseas to practice on links courses, Woods flew home to Florida for six days to see his children, then returned to Scotland for the Britis in his professional career. His last victory came at the Australian Masters on Nov. 15, his last trip before his serial infidelity was uncovered.