All downhill... Tiger and skier Vonn split
LESS than a month ago she appeared to be the perfect stepmother in waiting, shepherding Tiger Woods’s children on to the Masters golf course to hug him.
But now Olympic skier Lindsey Vonn is out of the picture, after the couple announced their split last night in synchronised internet posts. A message on the champion golfer’s website said that he and Ms Vonn, 30, had ‘mutually decided to stop dating’. Ms Vonn wrote on Facebook: ‘After nearly three years together, Tiger and I have mutually decided to end our relationship. Unfortunately, we both lead incredibly hectic lives that force us to spend the majority of our time apart… Tiger and his beautiful family will always hold a special place in my heart.’ Woods, 39, and the mother of his two children Elin Nordegren, divorced in 2010 following a sex scandal in which he admitted cheating.
Rory McIlroy has consolidated his position as World No.1 with a commanding win over Gary Woodland in the final of the WGC-Cadillac Match Play in San Francisco. He’ll pocket more than $1.5million.
“The world No 1 displayed his grit to seal his second title of the year”
RORY McILROY strengthened his position at the top of the world rankings and pocketed more than $1.5million with a commanding win over Gary Woodland in the final of the WGC-Cadillac Match Play in San Francisco.
Having surrendered his ringside seats for Floyd Mayweather’s win over Manny Pacquiao in Las Vegas the night before, and finally dispensed with an ill Paul Casey on the 22nd hole of their quarterfinal, McIlroy finished strongly to beat Jim Furyk in order to set up the final showdown with American Woodland, ranked 52nd.
All square through the first three holes, McIlroy took control when Woodland bogeyed the par-four fourth and a hat-trick of birdies from the Holywood native on the next three holes opened up a four-hole lead that the four-time Major winner, 26 today, held until the 11th, when a bogey f i ve brought Woodland within three with seven holes to play.
A veteran of three Ryder Cups, McIlroy has fine matchplay pedigree and he displayed his grit in the next two holes, halving the 13th before pressuring Woodland into a costly bogey on the 14th, which left the world No 1 three up with four holes to play.
Two holes later and McIlroy sealed his second title of the year, following on from the Dubai Desert Classic back in February, teeing him up perfectly for next week’s ‘Fifth Major’, the Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass.
A first professional matchplay championship was a fine consolation for missing out on ringside seats for the big fight in Las Vegas.
McIlroy was one down with two holes to play in his semi-final with Jim Furyk before holing from three feet for birdie on the 17th and 40 feet across the 18th green for an eagle.
That took the top seed into the final with American Woodland, who recovered from an early two-hole deficit to beat England’s Danny Willett 3&2.
‘I wish I didn’t have to finish like that all the time,’ McIlroy joked, a reference to coming from two down after 16 to beat Billy Horschel in the group stages and one down after 17 to see off Casey in the quarter-finals.
Casey had three-putted the 17th on Saturday evening and both players missed chances to win in three extra holes before agreeing it was too dark.
Play resumed at 6.45am local time yesterday and McIlroy two-putted from 90 feet on the par-five first for a winning birdie after Casey was unable to get up and down from heavy rough. Casey revealed he had been ill overnight but refused to use it as an excuse.
Meanwhile, Tiger Woods and Lindsey Vonn have announced their relationship is over — both taking to social media to say they are splitting.
But even in a break-up, they stuck together in the announcement. ‘After nearly three years together, Tiger and I have mutually decided to end our relationship,’ Vonn said on her Facebook page. ‘I will always cherish the memories that we’ve created together. Unfortunately, we both lead incredibly hectic lives that force us to spend a majority of our time apart. He and his beautiful family will always hold a special place in my heart.’
Olympic ski champion Vonn this year set the record for most World Cup titles.
‘Lindsey and I have mutually decided to stop dating,’ Woods said on his website. ‘I have great admiration, respect and love for Lindsey and I’ll always cherish our time together.
‘She has been amazing with Sam and Charlie and my entire family. Unfortunately, we lead very hectic lives and are both competing in demanding sports. It’s difficult to spend time together,’ added Woods in his statement.
Both are divorced. They were last seen in public at the Masters, where Vonn accompanied Woods’ children — sevenyear-old daughter Sam and six-year-old son Charlie — when they caddied for him in the par-three tournament.
Woods was in Italy in January when Vonn broke the World Cup record, and he was photographed with a skeleton-pattern mask that when dropped revealed he was missing a tooth. Woods later said a videographer bumped into him and jarred it loose.
He also was in Colorado where she competed before a home crowd in February, right after Woods announced he was taking time away from golf because he was struggling with his game. He shot an 82 in the Phoenix Open to miss the cut by 12 shots and withdrew after 11 holes at Torrey Pines the following week with tightness in his back.