Tiger Woods and Lindsey Vonn: Why She Waited for Him in the Car When Elin Was Around

The skiing sensation stayed out of sight nearby while golf star met with his ex; here's why

By Leslie Gornstein Mar 21, 2013 9:04 PMTags
Tiger Woods, Lindsey VonnSplash News, Courtesy: Tiger Woods/Lindsey Vonn, Facebook.com

Lindsey Vonn sits in a car while her boyfriend Tiger Woods watches his kid's soccer game with his ex-wife? Does Lindsay have a problem with Elin?
—Y.A., via Twitter

Now that would be juicy, wouldn't it—skiing sensation and Sports Illustrated love bomb Vonn vs. former bikini model Elin Nordegren in a cage match to the death!

But no. Sure, Vonn did wait in a car while Woods and Nordegren watched their 5-year-old daughter, Sam, play soccer in Florida.

But as much as you may want to hear some story involving catty intrigue and sulking in cars, I have the likely truth. And actually it's much more interesting.

People who obsessed over Tiger Woods' divorce (code name: everybody) know that cheating was at the heart of the 2010 split. A lot of cheating: More than a dozen women, at one point, were claiming that they had sex with Woods while he was married to Nordegren.

After the divorce was finalized, at least one reliable report emerged claiming to know details of the settlement. The Chicago Sun-Times trumpeted that, as part of the couple's deal, Woods was banned from bringing any girlfriends around his children (the deal wouldn't apply if he subsequently married the woman), or so the reports went. The divorce settlement was private, after all, so very few people can say for sure.

Point is, if there was an agreement like that, it would explain why Woods put Baby in a corner during the soccer game.

But it isn't the most likely explanation.

"I doubt that Vonn sitting in a car has anything to do with Woods' settlement agreement ," says experienced celebrity divorce attorney Steve Mindel. "Vonn wouldn't put herself in that position. She would have gone and done something else that day."

So what's going on instead? Well, Mindel and I both smell a publicist in the works. Either that or a very savvy manager.

"If I I were a betting person, I would bet Vonn isn't quite ready for the media frenzy of being out there photographed publicly with Tiger," Mindel wisely guesses. "Being seen with him at a golf or ski tournament is one thing, but being seen with Tiger and his ex-wife, that may be a little too soon for Lindsay."

But why sit in a car then?

"I think the managers are dealing with this—the handlers," Mindel posits. "This is a soft way to introduce Vonn to everybody."

Well, yes: That and Facebook.