Golf’s shocking love scandals… from top star who ‘stole’ pal’s wife to infamous orgies & drunken arrest over Hooters row
FORGET fairways and birdies, because it seems some of the most shocking moments in the world of golf happen off the course.
From infamous orgies to brutal splits, their lives away from the green are rife with outrageous antics.
Leading the pack when it comes to love scandals is self-confessed sex addict Tiger Woods.
The golf legend has had so many affairs that a US broadcaster hosted a beauty pageant comprised solely of his mistresses, and a group of alleged porn star mistresses even teamed up for an X-rated film.
While he’s now dating Vanessa Trump – the ex-wife of the US President’s son Donald Jr – his past is littered with allegations of sexual encounters with Playboy models, waitresses and sex workers.
But Tiger, 49, is far from alone and now with The Masters Tournament underway in Georgia, US, many will be keeping a close eye on the golfers and their partners.
Here we look back at some of the players’ most explosive relationship scandals.
Tiger Woods
Tiger’s definitely had a few ‘birdies’ in his time – and not just of the golfing variety.
During his nine-year relationship with Elin Nordegreen, he allegedly paid £45,000 a time for group sex and £11,500 for solo sex, according to Hollywood madam Michelle Braun’s claims in the New York Post.
His marriage ended in 2009 after Elin discovered incriminating messages on his phone and allegedly chased him out of the house while furiously swinging a golf club.
After paying out £75million in a divorce settlement, he moved on with Olympic ski racer Lindsey Vonn but their romance is said to have ended after he cheated with a “faceless, nameless woman”.
An insider told MailOnline it was a ‘relapse’ – previously Tiger went to rehab for sex addiction treatment – and suggested the sportsman couldn’t help himself.
They added: “Knowing Tiger, he doesn’t even see it as cheating because there’s no romance or feeling there. It’s just a stress reliever, like a highball [cocktail] or two after a bad day.”
Before getting with Vanessa, he secretly dated business owner Kirstin Smith. The relationship was outed when she told airport security that £150,000 in cash found on her person was a gift from Tiger.
He also was with restaurant manager Erica Herman, who claimed in court documents that Tiger told her she could stay at his Florida mansion after their split – only to change the locks when she was ‘tricked’ into going on a ‘short vacation’.
Just last month, the sportsman revealed his new relationship with Vanessa, sharing photos of them snuggling up together on social media.
In captions, he said “life is better with you by my side” and that he was looking forward to their “journey through life together”.
Greg Norman
Australian golfer Greg Norman has left a few broken hearts along the way too.
Among them is ex-wife Laura Andrassy, who claimed the golfer had an affair with his future third wife Kirsten Kutner nearly 30 years before they became an item.
The fling allegedly happened in the Nineties, with her catching him out after overhearing a conversation between them, according to Fox Sports.
He allegedly vowed to end the fling but Laura conceded in an interview with The Daily Telegraph: “I don’t know whether he continued to see her.”
The couple, who had two kids, divorced in 2006 after 25 years together, with her receiving an £83million settlement.
Laura described it as a “hurtful time in my life”, alleging Greg locked her out of their £16million mansion and cut off her credit card to “coerce” and “starve her out” during legal proceedings.
Greg also burned bridges with former “best friend” Mill Evert, who claimed the sportsman stole his wife Chris and had a secret relationship while he was married to Laura.
“I would have taken a bullet for this guy but I didn’t realise he was the one who was going to pull the trigger,” fuming Olympic ski racer Mill told the NZ Herald.
The golfer’s marriage to Chris lasted just 15 months and shortly after, he moved on with Kirsten, an interior designer, who he’s been married to since 2010.
While Greg finally seems settled, furious ex-wife Laura wasn’t thrilled by the news, stating that she didn’t want her children to be “around a woman who almost destroyed our family”.
John Daly
Californian golfer John Daly has been married four times and most have been embroiled in scandal – including a drunken ‘arrest’ outside a Hooters restaurant.
His first nuptials were with hand model Dale Crafton in 1987. They divorced three years later after he was reported to have found living in her hometown ‘miserable’.
Next up was Bettye Fulford, who he shares a son with. John was charged with third-degree assault after allegedly throwing his wife against a wall in 1992, two years into their marriage.
It’s believed she dropped the charges and John strongly denied being an abuser in his memoir, where he insisted he had never attacked a woman.
In the same year that his second divorce was finalised in 1995, his second child was born with future wife Paulette Dean, who he married shortly after. They divorced five years later.
The final Mrs Daly was Sherrie Miller, whom he shares a son with. When they broke up six years after tying the knot, she didn’t hold back on her thoughts about him.
In a damning memoir, she recalled his drinking turning him into a destructive party animal and recalled gambling problems including losing £581,000 on just one bet.
I never thought he would do this to me. It killed me
Holly Sweeney
She also hinted at infidelity, stating Tiger Woods was not “the only one who’s ever strayed” and noted few in golf were “devoted husbands”.
Sherrie, who divorced John in 2007, claimed she and other WAGs would punish their partners for infidelities and bad behaviour by hiring limousines and going on “retail marathons”.
A year later, the star spent a night in jail after having such a boozy session at a Hooters that he “lost consciousness” and a paramedic had to be called.
When he refused to leave the restaurant or go to the hospital, police were called. They said he was “extremely intoxicated and uncooperative” and held him in custody for a “24-hour sober up”.
Dustin Johnson
Two-time major championship winner Dustin Johnson has often found himself in hot water over his love life.
Former FHM model Alli Mackenzie, ex-wife of PGA Tour star Will, was forced to deny rumours of an affair, while another top golfer is alleged to have confronted Johnson over suggestions he had bedded his wife.
At the time of the links to Mackenzie, Dustin was in an on-off romance with Paulina Gretzky, whom he eventually tied the knot with in 2022, nine years after proposing.
Before their nuptials, insiders claimed they had multiple “rocky periods” and temporary splits, including in 2018 when he was linked to socialite Yassie Safai.
Around that time, Paulina – who has two kids with Dustin – deleted all trace of him from her Instagram, while he kept photos of them together online.
It seems to be smoother sailing for the couple now, with him previously gushing: “You couldn’t ask for a better partner.”
Rory McIlroy
Rory McIlroy’s difficult dating life began shortly after he was named the youngest-ever winner of the West of Ireland Championship and Irish Close Champion.
He was dating childhood sweetheart Holly Sweeney – then 14, while he was 16 – and gushed: “She knows me better than basically anyone else in this world does.”
But it wasn’t to last. She told the MailOnline that he “ran away with Caroline [Wozniacki]”, a tennis player who she “always suspected he had a thing for” and “always fancied her”.
She later added to the Irish Mirror: “I never thought he would do this to me. It killed me. I went away to Dubai as soon as we split up so I didn’t have to look or think about it.”
Three years into their relationship in 2013, he proposed but the following year Caroline was ‘blindsided’ when he dumped her during a three-minute phone call.
“The problem is mine,” Rory said. “The wedding invitations issued at the weekend made me realize that I wasn’t ready for all that marriage entails.”
In 2014, Rory even set tongues wagging about his friendship with then-single actress Meghan Markle after they recorded a playful viral video challenge together.
Three years later, he tied the knot with Erica Stoll – a friend of many years, who he said he adored due to there being “no bulls***, no acting, no show” whenever he was around her.
The couple, who have a daughter, announced plans to divorce in May 2024 with Rory saying their marriage was “irretrievably broken”. A month later they U-turned and got back together.
Phil Mickelson
A feud between PGA legend Phil Mickelson and and Pat Perez has been rumbling on for years and if claims are to be believed, you can understand why he would be ‘teed off’.
According to a biography written by journalist Alan Shipnuck, the golfers were having dinner together along with Pat’s wife Ashley when an “offensive” incident occurred in 2015.
“When Pat excused himself to use the restroom during dinner, Phil whipped out his phone to allegedly show her a photograph of himself that she found offensive,” he claimed in the book about Mickelson.
Phil’s agent called the claim “absolutely untrue” but Pat seemed to add fuel to the flames by remarking: “It’s a matter between us. We handled it.”
On the Son of a Butch podcast, the scorned golfer later said he had “a different hate for Phil than most people”, claiming that he went over an “uncrossable and unforgivable line”.
While it wasn’t clear whether he was referring to the alleged photo incident or a different spat, the sportsman added: “He knows that he screwed up.”