Woods and former wife 'sad' as marriage ends

Golfer Tiger Woods and former spouse Elin Nordegren were today starting life as ex husband and wife after officially ending their six-year marriage

The pair got divorced during a 10 minute hearing in Florida yesterday, almost nine months after the sportsman’s infidelities first hit the headlines.

In a joint statement on the world number one’s website, the ex-couple said they were “sad that our marriage is over” and wished “each other the very best for the future”.

The divorce comes after Woods was forced to apologise publicly following a string of lurid allegations about affairs with a number of women.

The 34-year-old multimillionaire lost a series of lucrative endorsements in the wake of the claims and saw a dip in form on the golf course.

The couple’s statement added: “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.

“Once we came to the decision that our marriage was at an end, the primary focus of our amicable discussions has been to ensure their future well-being.

“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.”

Woods and Nordegren married on October 5, 2004 during a ceremony in Barbados.

They have a three-year-old daughter, Sam, and an 18-month-old son, Charlie.

Details of the divorce – and the likely cost to Woods – were not revealed. But it was disclosed that the judgment provides for joint custody of their two children.

The golfer’s world began to unravel after he crashed his car on November 27 last year.

There was speculation that the collision with a fire hydrant came after he clashed with Nordegren, a former swimwear model.

Woods was forced to make a carefully-staged televised apology after a string of women – including a porn actress and cocktail waitress – came forward and claimed they had relationships with him.

He has not admitted to specific relationships but said “just one is enough and obviously that wasn’t the case”.

When he made the apology in February, he said: “Elin and I have started the process of discussing the damage caused by my behaviour. As Elin pointed out to me, my real apology to her will not come in the form of words; it will come from my behaviour over time.”

He denied his wife attacked him on the night of the crash and praised her for showing “enormous grace and poise” as the stories emerged.

Woods said he “ran straight through the boundaries” that a married couple should observe and convinced himself that “normal rules didn’t apply”.

He went on: “I thought I could get away with whatever I wanted to.”

Woods, who went into therapy, recently returned to golf with limited success and is in danger of losing his status as the best golfer in the world.