Perched on a tiny Swedish island shielded by miles of ice, Tiger Woods and his family have a new hideout that is virtually paparazzi-proof.
Privacy comes at a cost: The millionaire and his family will have to give up indoor plumbing.
In the Swedish winter.
According to the Global Post's detailed look at the $2.3million estate Elin Nordegren recently bought off the coast of Stockholm, a shutterbug would have to pull a James Bond-like exploit to get there.
Nordegren's new home is an isolated 250,000-square-foot property on Faaglar - or Bird - Island, normally accessible only by an infrequent two-hour ferry ride from Stockholm.
In winter, the waters surrounding the island freeze over, and ferry travel becomes impossible.
The only way to reach it now is by hydrocopter, an amphibious aircraft-propelled catamaran specially designed for Arctic conditions.
"During the winter time, almost no one lives on the island," Nordegren's neighbor Urban Andersson told the Global Post.
The rustic home's remoteness also comes at a hefty cost for a Florida millionaire accustomed to the lap of luxury: indoor plumbing can only be used from May to October.
That's because winter temperatures regularly plunge into the teens.
"[In winter] we need to bring water from the public water pumps. It is very old-fashioned and sometimes uncomfortable, but also very cozy," said a neighbor.
Another hardship for the man who could buy anything: The island doesn't have a single shop.
"It takes a lot of planning when it comes to food and everything since it is an entire day's work to go to the supermarket on the mainland," a resident said.
Elin Nordegren grew up nearby in the small town of Vaxholm, which can be reached from the Woods' new home by ferry - when the ice melts.
The estate was purchased early this month with the help of twin sister Josefin Lonnborg, just as Woods' sex scandal exploded publicly.
It includes a main house, two outdoor storehouses, a private beach, a miniharbor and a boathouse sauna.
There are also three small guesthouses - in case anyone ends up in the doghouse.
Tiger's Brand takes a beating. Amid allegations of affairs by Tiger Woods, corporate sponsors such as Gillette, AT&T and Chevron are re-evaluating what role he'll play in pitching their products. NBC's Chris Jansing reports.
Global consulting firm Accenture PLC has ended its relationship with Tiger Woods, marking the first major sponsor to cut ties altogether with the golfer since his alleged infidelities surfaced and he announced an indefinite leave from the sport to work on his marriage.
In its first statement since the Woods' scandal erupted, Accenture said Sunday the golfer is "no longer the right representative" after the "circumstances of the last two weeks." The move ends a six-year relationship during which the firm credited its "Go on, be a Tiger" campaign with boosting its image significantly. Accenture has used Woods to personify its claimed attributes of integrity and high performance.
"After careful consideration and analysis, the company has determined that he is no longer the right representative for its advertising," Accenture said, adding that "it wishes only the best for Tiger Woods and his family."
The firm plans to immediately transition to a new advertising campaign, with a major effort scheduled to launch later in 2010. An Accenture spokeswoman declined to comment further. Advertising firm Young & Rubicam, which has handled the company's Tiger Woods ads, also would not comment on the move.
One of the risks of advertising tied to a celebrity is that "your image gets carried by someone you can't control," said Jonathan Bernstein, president of Bernstein Crisis Management.
"They definitely understand there's damage," Bernstein said of Accenture.
Accenture's advertising campaign was almost entirely built around Woods and his success, portraying his ability to sink a key putt or hit out of the rough. If Woods had acknowledged mistakes and said he would be back in a month, Accenture might be able to ride it out, said Rick Burton, a professor of sports management at Syracuse University, in an interview.
But Accenture can't afford to wait for what could be a long time before Woods returns.
"They had tied everything in their campaign to Tiger Woods it appeared," he said. "If he's not golfing, those ads don't make sense."
Burton said Accenture's billboards and airport advertising need to be replaced quickly. Without a backup plan, the company might fall back on something simple and conservative that could highlight its logo.
"It is probably prudent to take a low-key, conservative approach until they determine what their next message is that they want to send," he said. Accenture will have to determine whether it wants to stick with sports or whether its been too burned by what happened and will go another route, Burton added.
"Accenture has made a decision to not continue with their sponsorship. We are disappointed but respect their decision," said Mark Steinberg, Woods' agent at IMG Worldwide. The PGA Tour said it would have no comment.
Accenture has been title sponsor since 2001 of the Match Play Championship, a lucrative World Golf Championship event that draws the top 64 players from the world ranking. Accenture earlier this year renewed its sponsorship of the tournament through 2014. The contract is separate from its business endorsement with Woods.
The management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company has clients in more than 120 countries and about 177,000 employees across 52 countries. Starting as the consulting arm of now-defunct accounting firm Arthur Andersen, it split off in 1989 under the name Andersen Consulting, eventually ending all ties with Andersen and changing its name to Accenture.
The company went public in 2001 and now has a market cap of $26 billion. Earlier this year Accenture shifted its place of incorporation from Bermuda to Ireland, where it has done business for about 40 years.
Woods' array of endorsements helped him become the first sports star to earn $1 billion, according to Forbes. But while not terminating its relationship completely, another major Woods sponsor pulled away this weekend.
On Saturday, Gillette, which uses the slogan "The best a man can get," said it won't air advertisements featuring Woods or include him in public appearances for an unspecified time. Woods was hired by Gillette in 2007 and has been in ads for Gillette Fusion Power razors with titles like "Phenom" and "Champions" with other stars including tennis great Roger Federer and soccer player Thierry Henry.
Other sponsors continue to stick with Woods for the time being.
Electronic Arts, whose EA Sports division has been selling Tiger Woods video golf games for a decade, said Sunday, "We respect that this is a very difficult, and private, situation for Tiger and his family. At this time, the strategy for our Tiger Woods PGA TOUR business remains unchanged." The game's next edition featuring Woods comes out in six months.
AT&T said Sunday that it continues to evaluate its relationship with the golfer. Watch maker Tag Heuer did not return a call Sunday, but its Web site continues to display photos of Woods wearing the Link and Golf Watch models.
Nike Inc. said late Friday that it supported Woods' decision to take time off.
Sources: NY Daily News, MSNBC, The Daily Beast, US Weekly Mag.
It's a question that has been consistently asked in the past 13 years, from the time Tiger Woods turned professional and timidly proclaimed, "I guess, hello, world," through his 14 major championship titles and near-decade-long grip on the world's No. 1 ranking: Can professional golf survive without him?
We might be about to find out.
Woods revealed on his personal Web site Friday that he is taking an indefinite leave from competition amid a scandal that has brought multiple infidelities to light, announcing, "I need to focus my attention on being a better husband, father, and person."
The word "indefinite" is, of course, cryptic at best. It could mean that Woods will return in time to be standing on the first tee at Augusta National Golf Club on April 8 in search of his fifth green jacket. Or it could very well signify the end to perhaps the greatest career we've ever seen in the game. At this point, declaring one over the other is pure speculation, as Tiger himself likely doesn't even know if he will return, let alone when.
Right move? Wrong move? From talk-show airwaves to message boards, there will be much conjecture about whether this was the proper decision, but frankly, nobody's opinion matters except that of Woods. He has deemed his current family situation dire enough to make it a priority over playing golf, which is a significant statement. It sounds simple to suggest a man should choose family over career, but for one who has worked so diligently at his craft for so many years -- and with some very tangible goals now within striking distance -- this speaks volumes about the reparations he feels are needed at home.
This won't be the first time Woods has taken an extended leave from the PGA Tour. In 2006, after the death of his father, Earl, he remained away from the game for nine weeks; upon Tiger's return, he missed the cut at the U.S. Open but won the Open Championship one month later, clinching the festivities at Royal Liverpool in a teary-eyed bout with emotions we've never witnessed publicly before or since from him. And last year, after winning the U.S. Open at Torrey Pines in a sudden-death playoff while competing on a torn ACL and multiple leg fractures, he underwent reconstructive surgery and was sidelined for eight months.
In each instance, the game soldiered on, those would-be Woods victories divvied up between other top players. The level of competition didn't suffer as much as the events themselves, though, as his absence created a general lack of buzz throughout the masses.
Woods might not be bigger than the sport created in Scottish fields many centuries ago, but he is the biggest thing going right now -- in any sport -- and any tournament without his name attached to the entry list will fail to pique the interest of many casual fans. In a climate of economic turmoil -- and with many of the PGA Tour's own title sponsorship contracts expiring at the end of the 2010 season -- Woods' importance to the game cannot be overstated, his presence more necessity than luxury.
If there is a silver lining to Woods' current situation and ensuing decision, it's that when he returns to professional golf -- if he returns -- the 71-time PGA Tour champion will be able to glean help from those aforementioned absences, using the knowledge that he has returned to golf successfully in the past as motivation.
"I expect whenever he comes back, he'll be fully prepared and ready to play." said Steve Stricker, who partnered with Woods in four matches at the Presidents Cup in October. "This is only speculation, but maybe that's why he's going to take some time, so he can get things right. Hopefully he is going to come back. We don't know. But to play this game, you need 100 percent focus in playing. It would be pretty hard to have that focus with all that is going on."
If Woods weren't already among the world's most famous humans for his on-course exploits, he is now for what he has deemed his off-course "transgressions." He has not spoken publicly since a single-car accident early on the morning of Nov. 27, which coincided with news of his marital infidelities. He has released five statements so far via his Web site but has left a multitude of questions unanswered.
This latest decision to take an indefinite leave from golf will only increase the scrutiny when he does return. The first public interview, the first golf shot, the first major championship -- each will be viewed under a microscope that even the most popular golfer has never seen, the eyes of the world fixated on his every word and movement. Until then, he will retreat further into privacy in an attempt to produce what he called a "safe haven we will need for personal healing."
In the 13 years since he offered that famous hello, Woods has triumphed under many difficult circumstances, but none were as delicate or debilitating as his current situation. Whether he is now saying goodbye or just "See you later," one thing is clear: The world of professional golf -- much like the world around Tiger Woods -- won't be the same for an awfully long time.
Tiger Woods has been making history on and off the course since he joined the PGA Tour in 1996. First up was a record $40 million contract from Nike. The following year he won the Masters by a record 12 strokes, becoming the youngest winner ever and first black player to take the title. His career has been packed full of accomplishments, including major titles (14), annual money titles (9) and Player of the Year awards (9).
Now Woods can add one more accolade to his trophy case: the first athlete to earn $1 billion. Our calculations show that the $10 million bonus Woods earned winning this year's FedEx Cup title nudged him over the $1 billion mark in career earnings.
Forbes has been tracking athlete earnings since before Tiger turned pro. Woods had earned a cumulative $895 million going into 2009, by our estimates, from prize money, appearance fees, endorsements, bonuses and his golf course design business. If you add his $10.5 million in 2009 prize money, the FedEx bonus and his take so far this year from his more than $100 million in annual off-the-course earnings, Woods' career earnings are now 10 figures.
Woods has only two real competitors when it comes to career earnings among athletes: the two Michaels, Jordan and Schumacher, who dominated their respective sports for nearly 15 years. Jordan's earning peaked during his last season with the Chicago Bulls (1998-'99), when he earned $69 million in salary and endorsement income.
Jordan continues to earn $45 million annually, almost entirely from Nike ( NKE - news - people ). We estimate that Jordan has earned $800 million since he entered the NBA in 1984. Annual sales of the Jordan brand are now $1 billion for Nike, so MJ should hit the $1 billion mark in career earnings in the next four to five years.
Schumacher's earnings peaked at $80 million in 2003, when he won his record sixth World Drivers' Championship (he won a seventh title the following year). His $40 million salary was the highest in sports at the time and his income doubled when you factored in endorsements, licensing deals and championship bonuses. Schumacher has earned $700 million, by our count, since his Formula One debut in 1991.
Tiger Woods said Friday he is taking an indefinite leave from golf to work on saving his marriage, using the word "infidelity" for the first time in a statement posted on his Web site.
"After much soul searching, I have decided to take an indefinite break from professional golf," Woods said. "I need to focus my attention on being a better husband, father, and person."
Woods and his wife, Elin, have been married five years and have a 2-year-old daughter and 10-month-old son.
The announcement came two weeks after a car accident set in motion a shocking downfall for the world's No. 1 player, and included sordid allegations of numerous extramarital affairs. One woman even shared a voice mail she said Woods left her two nights before his Nov. 27 accident.
Woods hasn't been seen in public since the accident.
"I am deeply aware of the disappointment and hurt that my infidelity has caused to so many people, most of all my wife and children," Woods said. "I want to say again to everyone that I am profoundly sorry and that I ask forgiveness. It may not be possible to repair the damage I've done, but I want to do my best to try."
The PGA Tour said it supported the decision by its biggest star.
"His priorities are where they need to be, and we will continue to respect and honor his family's request for privacy," PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem said in a statement, the tour's first public comment since Woods mentioned his "personal failings" on Dec. 2. "We look forward to Tiger's return to the PGA Tour when he determines the time is right for him."
The announcement by Woods raised the possibility, depending on how long he stays away from the game, that he could miss the Masters for the first time since he played as an amateur in 1995. The tournament is April 8-11.
One of Woods' favorite playing partners also said it was the right thing to do.
"I think it's great that he's going to put his family first and work things out," Steve Stricker said from Naples, Fla. "Golf will always be there. He wants to make sure his marriage is right and everything is good on the homefront. We'll sure miss him on tour until he gets things taken care of."
It will be the second straight season the PGA Tour begins without its No. 1 player, although this is different. A year ago, he was out of golf for eight months while recovering from reconstructive knee surgery, and television ratings dropped 50 percent during his absence.
"We knew before he was coming back," Stricker said. "Now we're not sure when he's coming back. But this sounds good. I hope everything works out for him."
Woods' agent, Mark Steinberg, told The Associated Press that he supports Woods' decision to take time off for his family.
"The entirety of someone's life is more important than just a professional career," Steinberg said in an e-mail to the AP. "What matters most is a young family that is trying to cope with difficult life issues in a secluded and caring way. Whenever Tiger may return to the game should be on the family's terms alone."
Addressing the subject of Woods' sponsors, Steinberg said that "it would be both premature and inappropriate to comment on the status of specific business relationships.
"Suffice it to say, we have had thoughtful conversations and his sponsors have been open to a solution-oriented dialogue," he said. "Of course, each sponsor has unique considerations and ultimately the decisions they make we would fully understand and accept."
Earlier this year, Woods became the world's first athlete to surpass $1 billion in career earnings, according to Forbes magazine. His sponsors include Nike, Gillette, AT&T, Accenture and Tag Heuer.
Tiger Woods, one of the highest earning athletes ever, posted a statement on his Web site today saying he is “profoundly sorry” for the hurt his infidelity has caused, and will be taking an “indefinite break” from professional golf. “What's most important now is that my family has the time, privacy, and safe haven we will need for personal healing,” he wrote. This was Woods' first admission of infidelity since more than a dozen women, including some prostitutes, have claimed to have slept with him. ABCNews reports Woods may go to Sweden with his wife to hash out their problems.
I am deeply aware of the disappointment and hurt that my infidelity has caused to so many people, most of all my wife and children. I want to say again to everyone that I am profoundly sorry and that I ask forgiveness. It may not be possible to repair the damage I've done, but I want to do my best to try.
I would like to ask everyone, including my fans, the good people at my foundation, business partners, the PGA Tour, and my fellow competitors, for their understanding. What's most important now is that my family has the time, privacy, and safe haven we will need for personal healing.
After much soul searching, I have decided to take an indefinite break from professional golf. I need to focus my attention on being a better husband, father, and person.
Again, I ask for privacy for my family and I am especially grateful for all those who have offered compassion and concern during this difficult period.
A California congressman is dropping his effort to honor Tiger Woods with a Congressional Gold Medal.
Democratic Rep. Joe Baca proposed legislation in March that called for the golfer to be recognized for promoting good sportsmanship and breaking down barriers in the sport.
Baca said in a statement Wednesday that "in light of the recent developments surrounding Tiger Woods and his family," he won't pursue legislation this session to give him the award.
Woods' recent car accident has led to a media firestorm surrounding his personal life. The world's No. 1 golfer hit a hydrant and a tree on Nov. 27, and he was cited for careless driving and fined $164.
The accident — and Woods' refusal to answer questions about it — fueled speculation about a possible dispute between him and his wife, Elin.
Woods has been out of the public eye since the crash and subsequent allegations of extramarital affairs.
Last week, Woods issued a statement saying he had let his family down with unspecified "transgressions" that he regrets with "all of my heart."
The medal is the highest award Congress has to honor civilians for achievements and contributions to society.
The Hill newspaper first reported Baca's decision to drop the effort.
In other news, Tiger's approval rating is plummeting.
The New York Post says only 38 percent of Americans had a favorable view of Woods in a recent Rasmussen Reports survey. On the other side, 49 percent of those surveyed had an unfavorable rating.
The golfer had an 83 percent approval rating just two years ago — putting his favorablity above numbers for Peyton Manning and Tom Brady.
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