The complete Tiger Woods timeline, from Escalade to divorce
Before Thanksgiving of 2009, Tiger Woods
was just an incredible athlete that we didn’t know much about. After
that regrettable morning, things changed for the most famous golfer in
the world, and here’s a list of all the big events that unfolded
throughout the last few months.
November 25, 2009 — The National Inquirer leaks a story they have planned for a December 7 issue that Tiger Woods had been cheating on his wife
with a name we would became all too familiar with — Rachel Uchitel. We wrote, like most of us thought at the time, "make of
this what you will."
November 27, 2009 — Just two days after news broke that Tiger may have been cheating, Woods crashed his Cadillac Escalade
into a fire hydrant just outside his Isleworth home at 2:30 AM, and his
world was shaken up for good. Reports initially were that Tiger was in
"serious condition" after the wreck, but were quickly pulled back. The
fire hydrant and timing of the crash would come into question over the
next few days, as well as a claim that wife Elin had done anything from
smash his window out with a golf club to actually attack the golfer
with it, knocking out teeth.
November 29, 2009 — Tiger released a statement about the accident,
admitting "This situation is my fault, and it’s obviously embarrassing
to my family and me. I’m human and I’m not perfect. I will certainly
make sure this doesn’t happen again." Tiger hinted in the release that
his wife had helped him in the wreck and we should all respect the
request for things to stay private.
November 30, 2009
– Tiger announces he will not be attending the Chevron World Golf
Challenge, a tournament that benefits his own charity, and says he will
not be playing tournament golf for the rest of the season.
December 1, 2009 — A new lady stepped forward, admitting she had an affair with Tiger Woods. Jaimee Grubbs said she slept with the golfer in 2007, and admitted to having a voicemail left by Tiger a week prior asking for Grubbs to delete information.
Also, the Florida Highway Patrol fines Tiger $164 for careless driving.
December 2, 2009 — The voicemail that Grubbs claimed Tiger left
is released by US Weekly. This is what Woods says – "Hey, it’s Tiger.
I need you to do me a huge favor. Can you please take your name off
your phone? My wife went through my phone and may be calling you. So if
you can, please take your name off that. Just have it as a number on
the voicemail. You got to do this for me. Huge. Quickly. Bye."
Within hours of the voicemail coming out, Camp Tiger released an apology from the golfer.
He admitted, "I have let my family down and I regret those
transgressions with all of my heart. I have not been true to my values
and the behavior my family deserves."
December 3, 2009 – Jesper Parnevik, the golfer that introduced Tiger to Elin, goes to town on Woods,
admitting, "We probably thought he was a better guy than he is. I would
probably need to apologize to (Elin) and hope she uses a driver next
time instead of the 3-iron," an obvious poke at the rumors that Elin
had chased Tiger with a golf club the night of the accident.
December 7, 2009 – A porn star named Holly Sampson is now the seventh lady to admit to having an affair with Tiger Woods.
December 8, 2009 – With word swirling that Elin had worked to renegotiate the prenuptial agreement, a story is broken that she purchased a $2 million home in Sweden, her home country.
December 10, 2009 – A magazine called Life & Style quoted Ben Crane calling Tiger a "phony and a fake," but he and fellow PGA Tour star Charles Warren vehemently denied ever saying such things about Woods.
December 11, 2009 — Tiger releases another statement,
this time on his website saying that he is taking an "indefinite leave"
from the game of golf while he tries to repair his marriage.
December 14, 2009
– Accenture becomes the first big sponsor to drop Tiger, admitting
that Woods was "no longer the right representative" after the
"circumstances of the last two weeks."
December 16, 2009 — People magazine breaks a story
that Elin is planning on leaving Tiger, according to two unnamed
sources the magazine talked with. The source said, "She’s made up her
mind, there’s nothing to think about."
December 31, 2009 — AT&T becomes the second sponsor to cut ties with Tiger a day after the golfer turned 34.
January 19, 2010 – Rumors swirl that Tiger is in a sex rehab facility in Hattiesburg, Miss.
January 20, 2010 — Radar publishes a photo of a man that looks eerily similar to Woods near the sex treatment center in Mississippi.
January 25, 2010 — A reporter by the name of Gerald Posner puts together a timeline of events
and what he thinks really happened, that spread like wildfire across
the Internet. Still no word from Tiger about what exactly happened two
months prior.
January 27, 2010 — The second most notable golfer in the world, Phil Mickelson, finally speaks on the Tiger situation,
admitting, "The game of golf needs him to come back. I mean, it’s
important for him to come back and be a part of the sport. But right
now he’s got a lot more important things going on in his life." Also,
Lefty admits that he and Amy are "good friends" with both Tiger and
Elin.
January 29, 2010 – Tom Watson speaks on Tiger, letting the world know that what Tiger did to his family is "bad for our game" and "something he needs to get control of."
February 5, 2010 — Radar Online reports that Tiger had left the sex addiction facility in Hattiesburg, Miss.
February 8, 2010 — Rumors swirl (mostly from TMZ) that Tiger might pick the Tavistock Cup, an unsanctioned PGA Tour event, as his return date for golf.
February 11, 2010 — Mark O’Meara, longtime friend of Tiger, lets it be known that he hasn’t spoken to Tiger since the 2009 British Open, and that he "would have handled it differently myself," if he had been in the position of Woods.
February 12, 2010 — News breaks that Tiger bought a $2 million bought named Solitude
to give to his wife Elin. It was later reported that the plans to buy
the boat had been months in the making, well before the Thanksgiving
night crash.
February 17, 2010 – The Accenture Match Play kicks off without Woods in the field, a tournament he returned to in 2009 after a break from golf because of a knee surgery.
That same day, Tiger announces that he will speak for the first time publicly
on Friday at TPC Sawgrass, but will not take any questions. The timing
of the announcement has some questioning the motives of Woods, who was
recently dropped by tournament host Accenture because of his
transgressions.
February 19, 2010 – At 11 AM on Friday, Woods approached a podium with a blazer and purple shirt on, admitting he was "deeply sorry" for what he did to his family, friends and fans.
Some
of the highlights of his speech included a heartfelt apology to his
wife Elin, a heated moment where Woods said that there had never been
an episode of domestic violence in their household, and said that would
not be returning to golf anytime soon.
The speech had people on both sides of the fence, some saying they thought it was genuine while others felt it was robotic.
February 23, 2010 — Tiger sends out a letter to parents of kids that attend the same school as his children, apologizing for bringing unwarranted attention to the school.
February 26, 2010 — Gatorade drops Tiger as a spokesperson, but said it will continue to support the Tiger Woods Foundation.
February 28, 2010 — Tiger returns home after attending a sex addiction clinic and is said to be focusing on his fitness and his golf. The speculation for his return heat up.
March 3, 2010 — Steve Williams, Tiger’s caddie since 1999, told 60 Minutes in New Zealand that "of course I’m mad at (Tiger)," the first person from his team to speak negatively of the golfer.
March 8, 2010 — Mark Calcavecchia says that Tiger changed his cell phone number five times in 2009.
March 9, 2010 — Every tournament venue from this date until the Masters readies itself for a potential Tiger return.
March 11, 2010 — The Associated Press reports that Tiger will be back at Augusta National, although other reports suggest that Woods could be back sooner.
March 16, 2010 –
In a statement to the press, Woods announces he will return to the
Masters, stating, "The Masters is where I won my first major and I view
this tournament with great respect. After a long and necessary time
away from the game, I feel like I’m ready to start my season at
Augusta."
March 21, 2010 — Woods grants brief interviews to ESPN and The Golf Channel.
April 5, 2010 — In his first press conference, Woods turned in an impressive performance, dealing with questions both serious and trivial.
April 8, 2010 — Nike debuts a creepy new commercial using the voice of Woods’ late father Earl.
April 8, 2010 – Tiger’s first day back on the golf course, at Augusta, was a work of art. His later days, less so — but with more profanity.
April 12, 2010 – Phil Mickelson won the Masters and embraced his wife. Tiger Woods lost and walked off the course alone. It was a ready-made storyline for a thousand hack sportswriters.
April 15, 2010 — The first rumors surface about Woods’ marriage being over.
April 23, 2010 — Woods relaxes with a Nickelback show. Hey, takes all kinds.
April 30, 2010 — Signs that Woods’ comeback has hit a roadblock: he misses the cut at Quail Hollow.
May 4, 2010 — A book charges numerous coverups by law enforcement in the Woods accident.
May 11, 2010 — The hits keep on coming — Hank Haney resigns as Tiger’s swing coach.
June 20, 2010 — At the U.S. Open, it got ugly on the final day for Tiger. And no, he didn’t win.
July 21, 2010 — The British press has a go at Tiger, but has no more luck breaking him than their stateside brethren.
July 29, 2010 — As Tom Watson finished his final round at St. Andrews, Tiger showed some well-deserved respect.
August 12, 2010 – The scandal took a huge toll on Woods’ popularity, as his plummeting Q score demonstrated.
August 20, 2010 — With Woods wounded, Rory McIlroy and others "fancy their chances" against him should they get the chance to play him in the Ryder Cup.
August 23, 2010 — Attorneys announce that the Woods divorce is final.
Related posts:
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- Post-divorce Tiger Woods cards lowest round of the year
- Let’s hold off on this whole $750 million Tiger divorce thing
- Report: Elin Nordegren getting $110 million in divorce settlement