Elin has eight lawyers on hand as she divorces Tiger

Nine months after Tiger Woods drove his SUV into a fire hydrant outside his Florida home, and unleashed a flood of stories about his countless mistresses, he and his wife Elin Nordegren were divorced yesterday.

They both attended the Bay County Circuit Court in Panama City, Florida where their marriage was "hereby dissolved because it is irretrievably broken".

According to reports, Nordegren, a Swedish model who was working as a nanny when she first met Tiger in 2001, had eight lawyers on hand. Neither she nor Woods looked at each other.

Afterwards, the couple issued a joint statement saying: "We are sad that our marriage is over and we wish each other the very best for the future.

"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."
 
It is understood their two boys, Sam Alexis, 3, and Charlie Axel, 18 months, will live primarily with their mother. Woods will have regular access but - according to reports - must not introduce new girlfriends to the children.

The court accepted Nordegren's wish to have her maiden name restored - Elin Maria Pernilla Nordegren.

The size of the settlement is not known. People magazine reports that Nordegren, who married Tiger in 2004, could receive anywhere from $100 million in cash and property to as much as five times that figure. ·