'Yes, we're dating!': Tiger Woods and Lindsey Vonn update relationship status ... - Daily Mail

PUBLISHED: 12:42 EST, 18 March 2013 | UPDATED: 18:46 EST, 18 March 2013

Americaâ€™s Olympic golden girl Lindsey Vonn took a giant leap of faith by going public with her romance to love cheat Tiger Woods on Monday.

The ski jumper â€" a dead ringer for the golferâ€™s ex-wife Elin Nordegren â€" is Mr Woodsâ€™ first serious girlfriend since his marriage imploded in a barrage of revelations about his infidelity three years ago.

The athletes formally announced their relationship to their more than six million combined followers on Twitter and Facebook with a series of lovey-dovey professional photographsÂ â€" and with an appeal for privacy.

New romance: Tiger Woods and Lindsey Vonn posed up together for the first time as they confirmed their relationship on Monday

Not the best-kept secret! Lindsey Vonn published this statement on Facebook

The golf star, humbled by his fall from grace, appealed to be treated as an â€˜ordinary couple.â€™

The announcement, together with four photos, came at a prime time for Internet traffic.

There didnâ€™t appear to be any particular reason prompting the usually very private starâ€™s decision to go public with the budding romance.

But naturally, their sponsors got a showing â€" with the Nike swoosh clearly visible on Mr Woodsâ€™ white polo shirt and the Under Armour logo on Miss Vonnâ€™s blue top.

Coming out: The couple both released statements about the status of their relationship online

Coming out: The couple released statements about the status of their relationship online

Posed up: The pair staged snaps for release as they went public

At 28 the 2010 Winter Olympics gold medalist is nine years younger than Mr Woods.

In his posting, Mr Woods, 37, said he was pleased with his two recent comeback wins on the US golf tour.

'Something nice that's happened off the course was meeting Lindsey Vonn,â€™ he added.

â€˜Lindsey and I have been friends for some time, but over the last few months we have become very close and are now dating. We thank you for your support and for respecting our privacy.

â€˜We want to continue our relationship, privately, as an ordinary couple and continue to compete as athletes.â€™

Speculation that the relationship was serious grew after Mr Woods sent his private jet to collect Miss Vonn after she was injured in a horrific crash on February 5 during the Alpine Ski World Championships in Austria.

Miss Vonn, still recuperating from her injuries, acknowledged on her Facebook page: â€˜I guess it wasn't a well-kept secret but yes, I am dating Tiger Woods.

Sharing a laugh: The athletes smile while Lindsey looks adoringly at her new boyfriend in another snap

Sharing a laugh: The athletes smile while Lindsey looks adoringly at her new boyfriend in another image

â€˜Our relationship evolved from a friendship into something more over these past few months and it has made me very happy. I don't plan on addressing this further as I would like to keep that part of my life between us, my family and close friends. Thank you for understanding and your continued support!â€™ she added.

Mr Woods was spotted recently with his ex-wife on a day out with their children, Charlie, 4, and Sam, 5, on a day out in Florida.

But up until now he has gone to great lengths to keep his relationship with Miss Vonn under wraps.

A fortnight ago they left his luxury yacht â€" called Privacy â€" in separate golf carts to avoid being photographed together.

Mr Woods has been romantically linked to the Olympic medalist since last year. The two met at a charity event in April and began dating in November.

Miss Vonn has also reportedly been spending time with Mr Woods' family, giving skiing lessons to his children.

The Olympian finalized her divorce with fellow skier Thomas Vonn earlier this year after four years of marriage. She is the most successful US skier in history and has won four overall World Cup championships, one of only two female skiers ever to do so.

Woods meanwhile had a spectacular fall from grace in 2009 when his extra-marital affairs exploded in headlines.

I have an announcement: Tiger Woods' website splashed photos of the couple with a statement about their budding relationship

The scandal erupted after a bizarre November 27 car crash outside his mansion in Windermere, Orlando, the day after The National Enquirer, linked him to New York party hostess Rachel Uchitel.

Mr Woods had admitted to a string of affairs with as many as 14 women coming forward to claim they had slept with him.

Among those who came forward to say they were his mistress were two adult film stars, a cocktail waitress and a waitress from his local pancake restaurant.

Loredana Jolie, a 27-year-old former Playboy model who charged up to $15,000 a night for sex, claimed she first met Woods in 2006 when he hired her for Â£10,000 during a visit to New York.

Ms Nordegren quickly ditched her wedding ring - and later filed for divorce.

Love lost: Elin Nordegren is pictured with ex-husband Tiger Woods before he admission of marital infidelity led to their divorce

The Swede took an estimated $100million settlement and custody of their two young children Sam and Charlie.

Speaking about her relationship with the golfer, she said she felt 'blindsided' and 'embarrassed' when she found out about his multiple infidelities.

She said: 'I never suspected. For the last three-and-a-half years, when all this was going on, I was home a lot more with pregnancies, then the children and my school.Â

'Mistress Number 1': Former nightclub hostess Rachel Uchitel was described as Woods' 'number one mistress' as the golfer's cheating scandal unfurled

Other women: Tiger's alleged 'transgressions' from left to right, top row: Jaimee Grubbs, Holly Sampson, Jamie Jungers, Mindy Lawton. Bottom row: Cori Rist, Kalika Moquin, Rachel Uchitel, and Joslyn James

Ms Nordegren is believed to be dating billionaire coal magnate Chris Cline, her neighbour in the upscale North Palm Beach oceanfront community of Seminole Landing, where she moved after her divorce.

The New York Post reported earlier this month sources close to the 33-year-old former Swedish model and Mr Cline, who is 55, say they have been 'quietly dating'.

Mr Cline, who has made his money mining coal in Illinois and West Virginia, is worth a reported $1.2billion. He is the owner of mining company Cline Resource and Development.

He has been married twice and has four children with his previous wives. His first wife, Sabrina, died of breast cancer in 1987. He remarried in 1993 and then divorced seven years later.

Mr Cline generally tries to stay out of the media spotlight, but he made headlines in September when he hosted a fundraiser for failed Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney at his $10.5 million home in Seminole Landing.

He has also attracted some attention over the years for hosting blowout parties with the Palm Beach elite on his 164-foot yacht named Mine Games, which boasts two formal dining rooms, a poolside bar and a hot tub.

Before reports that Ms Nordegren and Cline were dating, it was rumored Nordegren was rekindling her relationship with Woods after the former couple was photographed together in public earlier this year.

Ms Nordegren has also been romantically linked to businessman Jamie Dingman and to Swedish hockey player Douglas Murray. New romance: Tiger Woods' ex-wife, Elin Nordegren, is dating billionaire coal magnate Chris Cline