A Tiger’s Tale: Golf’s Scandalous Saga

Woods’ very public meltdown was a shock for everyone watching it unfold in real time. Here was arguably the greatest golfer of all time, a literal billionaire, who had recently met with the then-President Barack Obama in the White House — and his life was spiraling out of control before the eyes of the world.

Photographs had been snapped showing that Woods and Uchitel had once stayed in the same hotel in Australia at the same time. This was while Woods had been competing at the Australian Masters.

Nordegren wasn’t convinced, as rumors online began to swirl about what was about to come out in the papers. Woods, clearly sensing how bad things were potentially about to get, reportedly arranged for Nordegren and Uchitel to chat to each other on the phone.

The following day, which had been Thanksgiving, the situation exploded. Nordegren came to learn some of the nitty-gritty details included in the report about Woods’ alleged affair with Uchitel, and she was furious. She and her husband fell into an argument.

While Woods was sleeping, Nordegren apparently grabbed her husband’s phone and opened up its messages. Here she discovered texts he’d sent to Uchitel, who was listed in his contacts under her real name.

Nordegren then did something drastic. She apparently started sending messages to Uchitel at around 1:00 a.m., composing them as if she was Woods. “I miss you,” she texted the other woman. “When are we seeing each other again?”

The fact that Uchitel’s reply expressed surprise that Woods was awake may seem innocent enough, on the surface. But Nordegren read into it a little differently. She was of the opinion that it demonstrated that Uchitel was aware that Woods had taken a sedative, therefore proving that they’d been in contact with one another very recently.

Uchitel had been understandably shocked, and had apparently simply uttered an expletive before cutting off the call. The game was up: Nordegren had learned the truth, and it sent her into an almighty rage.

At one stage, Woods apparently found his phone and took it inside the bathroom. While he was locked away in there, he sent a text to Uchitel to inform her of what was going on. He explained that Nordegren had learned of their relationship — which, of course, she already knew.

According to one of the sources, Nordegren hadn’t even elaborated to Woods about what she’d seen. She’d just fallen into a frenzy, screaming and attacking her husband. She reportedly tried to punch him on his arms and chest, ultimately driving him out of their house. Famously, she pursued him with a golf club in her hand.

The press reported that the back windows of Woods’ car had been smashed, and the suggestion here was that this hadn’t been caused by the crash. Nordegren was said to have done that, as she’d swung the golf club and demanded that her husband get out of his vehicle.

Following the dramatic crash, Woods was taken to hospital to assess his injuries. When it was established that they weren’t too bad, he was allowed to go home. His wife, though, wasn’t ready to see him. She was still too angry, so Woods went somewhere else: we don’t know where.

Of course, some of what was going on here was picked up on by the press. Woods was asked to comment on all the stories that were going around, but the golfer refused to oblige. He kept quiet about the rumors and reports.

But as Woods kept conspicuously quiet about everything, the rumors only grew larger and more sordid. Several women came forward to the media, claiming to have had relations with Woods while he had been a married man.

Woods broke his silence at the start of December, unable to ignore the continuously emerging reports and the growing list of women he’d allegedly slept with at one point or another during his marriage. Addressing his family and his supporters, he acknowledged unspecified “transgressions” had been committed and he said he regretted them.

Woods and Nordegren’s marriage was, by this point, totally unsalvageable. Woods apparently tried to convince this spouse to stay, offering to renegotiate the prenuptial agreement they’d both previously signed, but it was no good: she simply didn’t want to be with him.

Back in December 2009 though, Woods was still trying to put out the fires started by his infidelity. He delivered a statement on December 11, apologizing to his supporters and actually admitting to having been unfaithful to his wife. He also announced that he’d be stepping back from his golfing career for a time, so he could deal with his family issues.

In February 2010 Woods delivered another statement to the press. “I was unfaithful,” he said. “I had affairs. I cheated. What I did was not acceptable… For all that I have done, I am so sorry. I have a lot to atone for, but there’s one issue I really want to discuss.”

His marriage in tatters, and his reputation having taken an almighty hit, Woods tried to rebuild his sporting career. He started playing golf again in April 2010 but his form was not good. He was 34 years old by this stage, and he’d clearly been rattled by all that had happened over the last six months.

But, in fairness to Woods, he did manage to pull things together eventually. By 2012 his golf had returned to something like the level people had come to expect, and he started to rack up victories again: he was taking home trophies once more.

The back surgery was a major setback: unsurprisingly it really interfered with his golf. Upon his eventual return to competitive play he struggled a lot. After appearing in two tournaments at the beginning of 2015 he then took a short break for the sake of his back, before competing at the Masters in April. There, he finished in a still-creditable 17th spot.

That month, Woods was discovered passed out inside his car by the cops. The vehicle was pulled over beside a road close to his house, but its engine was running and the brake lights and blinkers were on. It had made for a troubling scene.

Woods later offered an explanation for what had happened in a statement to the press. He claimed to have experienced “an unexpected reaction to prescribed medications.” He went on to thank the authorities for how they’d handled the situation, while he also apologized.

The month after his arrest, Woods is reported to have signed himself into a clinic to seek help. He wanted to manage the medications he took for pain and his sleeping disorder more appropriately. It’s very possible he’d been abusing meds that had originally been intended to help ease the pain his back was giving him, the strain of being a top-level athlete having taken a physical toll.

After this bleak period, Woods found some form again when it came to his golf. He was competing again by 2018 and he started finishing in respectable positions in competitions once again. He even managed to re-enter the world top 50.

And even away from golf, Woods’ personal life was seemingly getting back on track. In May 2019 he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Donald Trump, who praised the golfer’s “relentless will to win, win, win.”

Given all that had happened in 2009 the subject of Woods’ love life has since been of great interest to people. Beginning in 2013 he was in a relationship with Lindsey Vonn, a pro skier. They broke up a couple of years later, and, according to reports, Woods was single for a while.

Before that point came, though, Woods’ life again took another dark turn. In February 2021 reports emerged claiming that he’d been caught up in a “single vehicle roll-over traffic collision” in Los Angeles County. An ax and pry had reportedly needed to be used to free him from the vehicle.

The accident had been a bad one, and Woods had been left badly injured. According to a statement by the chief medical officer of Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, which is where Woods had been taken following the incident, the golfer went into the operating theater for “significant orthopedic injuries to his right lower extremity.”

Woods was in hospital for several weeks, getting released only in mid-March. But that was just the beginning: he now needed to embark upon a recuperation process. He kept his fans up-to-date during that period, posting videos and showing off his progress.

But even though Woods was slowly pulling back from his golfing career, his turbulent personal life was continuing to appear in the press. At the start of 2023 he and his partner of many years, Erica Herman, announced their break-up. Not long after that, Herman filed a lawsuit against him.

Ever since 2009 Woods has never been far from controversy. But, now that his career has started to wind down, he’s concentrating on other pursuits, though he hasn’t exactly drifted too far away from the world of golf. He’s actually now overseeing his son Charlie’s potentially burgeoning career. Like his dad before him, it seems Charlie is something of a prodigy.

Woods has also entered golfing competitions with Charlie. Their first contest as a father-son pair took place in 2020; afterwards Woods spoke to the press to express his joy at being able to play the sport he loves alongside his son.

But as of now, in 2024, is Woods’ own pro golfing career over? Not quite. He did compete in a tournament this year, though he didn’t see it through to the end. He was also scheduled to compete in a tournament in February, but he pulled out because of illness. He next played in the U.S. Masters in April; he made the cut  — setting a new Masters record for consecutive cuts made in the process — before his challenge faded in the final two rounds.

As for his family life, Woods has experienced some profoundly turbulent times over the years. But according to People, he actually now enjoys a good relationship with his ex-wife Nordegren these days. Given the drama that went down in 2009, that might seem surprising, but it’s apparently true.

Woods himself has spoken positively about his ex-wife, mentioning her in a conversation with Time magazine in 2015. He claimed that, after working through the mess of 2019, he and Nordegren now enjoy a really good bond. He even went so far as to claim that he counted her as one of his “best friends.” That’s quite the turnaround.

When prompted to reflect on a period in which he and Nordegren had tried to rebuild their relationship, Woods said, “It was too tough, too tough. But now, in hindsight, as years and years have gone by, we’re like best friends. It’s fun. She talks to me about her life, I talk to her about my life. We try and help each other out on all occasions.”

Woods claimed that he’s taken responsibility for the breakdown of his and Nordegren’s marriage, including to their kids. He said, “I’ve taken the initiative with the kids, and told them up front, ‘Guys, the reason why we’re not in the same house, why we don’t live under the same roof, Mommy and Daddy, is because Daddy made some mistakes.’”

So, Woods has been claiming his relationship with Nordegren is pretty good — but what does she have to say about that? Well, it seems she’s very much of the same opinion. Speaking to People in 2014, she said the situation was “really good” between her and her ex-husband.