Woods, wife are officially divorced

Associated Press

Divorced. Single dad. Golf game still to be determined.

After nine months of turmoil over his extramarital affairs, now begins the next chapter in the life and times of Tiger Woods.

In a hearing that lasted no more than 10 minutes in a Florida judge’s chambers, Woods and his Swedish-born wife officially divorced Monday.

“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.

The divorce was granted shortly after 2 p.m. in Bay County Circuit Court in Panama City, Fla., about 375 miles from their Isleworth home outside Orlando, where Woods drove his SUV over a fire hydrant and into a tree on Thanksgiving night. That set off shocking revelations that sports’ biggest star had been cheating on his wife through multiple affairs.

Woods’ life and golf game have been in disarray ever since.

He and Nordegren were married Oct. 5, 2004, in Barbados and have a 3-year-old daughter, Sam, and an 18-month-old son, Charlie.

Terms of the divorce — such as how much it will cost Woods — were not disclosed. They said only 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,” her father, Thomas Nordegren, a talk show host at national broadcaster Swedish Radio, told The Associated Press. “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 10-minute hearing in a conference room in her chambers, according to Biebel’s judicial assistant, Kim Gibson. Woods and Nordegren were present, along with their lawyers, Gibson said.

“I don’t comment on active cases,” Thomas J. Sasser, Woods’ divorce attorney, said. Asked why they chose to file in Panama City, Sasser said it was a joint decision by the lawyers.

Some of the court documents indicated that Woods had to focus on his marital woes as well as his golf this summer.

He completed a four-hour course on “Parent Education and Family Stabilization” on July 10, the day before he left to play the British Open.

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.