Tiger Woods has hired a high-profile divorce lawyer as he and wife Elin Nordegren attempt to negotiate joint custody of their children, celebrity websites are reporting.
TMZ.com said Monday the world’s top golfer has hired Thomas Sasser from West Palm Beach, Florida, “an expert in enforcing international child custody agreements.”
“And sources say the custody agreement is going to be a central issue in Tiger and Elin’s divorce,” the website is reporting.
“Sources say Tiger and Elin are trying to work out an arrangement where Elin can take the two kids with her to Sweden, but Tiger will have either custody or visitation rights as well.”
Sasser represented NASCAR star Jeff Gordon in his 2003 divorce.
RadarOnline.com is reporting both Woods and his wife will share custody of their children in a divorce.
“They have not been getting along as a married couple but there has been no conflict over the children,” a source told the website Monday. “They both want what’s best for the kids.
“This isn’t going to get ugly. They’ve both made sure of that.”
The couple’s relationship fell apart last year with reports of a sex scandal involving Woods and as many as 121 mistresses.
Woods took a break from golf but returned last month at the Masters.
A painful neck injury forced him to quit the Players Championship in Florida on Sunday, and he’s now unsure when he’ll compete again.
Woods said he would undergo scans this week to determine the full extent of the problem.
“A lot is up in the air still, which I don’t like,” Woods told a news conference in Pennsylvania on Monday.
“I still need to go home and get a picture of this and see what’s going on.”
He said he had been troubled by neck pain since returning to golf but added it was not related to the car crash outside his home last year that led to revelations about his infidelities.
with files from Reuters
