Tiger Woods sex scandal ends in divorce

• Tiger Woods and Elin Nordegren have finally called it a day less than a year after the scandal broke

In a joint statement on the world number one's website, the pair said they were "sad that our marriage is over" and wished "each other the very best for the future".

The divorce comes after Woods was forced to apologise publicly for infidelity after a string of lurid allegations about affairs with a number of women.

The 34-year-old multi-millionaire lost a series of lucrative endorsements in the wake of the allegations.

The couple's statement added: "While we are no longer married, we are the parents of two wonderful children and their happiness has been, and will always be, of paramount importance to both of us.

"Once we came to the decision that our marriage was at an end, the primary focus of our amicable discussions has been to ensure their future well-being.

"The weeks and months ahead will not be easy for them as we adjust to a new family situation, which is why our privacy must be a principal concern."

The couple were at Bay County Circuit Court in Panama City, Florida, for the court hearing when their marriage was formally dissolved.

The divorce judgment provides for joint custody of their two children.

The golfer's world began to unravel after he crashed his car on November 27 last year.

There was speculation that the collision with a fire hydrant came after he clashed with Nordegren, a former swimwear model.

Woods was forced to make a carefully-staged televised apology after a string of women - including a porn actress and cocktail waitress - came forward and claimed they had relationships with him.

After he admitted his infidelities, the golfer put his career on hold and was admitted to a treatment centre for sex addiction in an undisclosed location.

He has not admitted to specific relationships but said "just one is enough and obviously that wasn't the case".

When he made the apology in February, he said: "Elin and I have started the process of discussing the damage caused by my behaviour.

"As Elin pointed out to me, my real apology to her will not come in the form of words; it will come from my behaviour over time."

He denied his wife had attacked him on the night of the crash and praised her for showing "enormous grace and poise" as the stories emerged.

Woods said he "ran straight through the boundaries" that a married couple should observe and convinced himself that "normal rules didn't apply".

He went on: "I thought I could get away with whatever I wanted to."

The 34-year-old lost a series of endorsements in the wake of the allegations.

Woods has since returned to golf, playing at the Open at St Andrews earlier this summer, but his performances have been poor so far.

The division of property and assets as part of the divorce was not disclosed in court yesterday, but reports have suggested that former model Ms Nordegren, 30, could receive anywhere from 65 million to as much as five times that figure.

Although she could have pushed for a half share in the disgraced golfer's 650 million fortune, Nordegren reportedly agreed on the lower sum to avoid a messy, drawn-out court battle.

She signed a prenuptial agreement when they were married in 2004, but it was renegotiated in the wake of the sex scandal as Woods tried desperately to save his marriage following a string of affairs.

According to the divorce documents, the marriage was described as being "irretrievably broken".

Underlining her plans to move on with her life without Woods, Nordegren said in court papers that she wants her maiden name restored.

It has been reported that custody was the key issue for both, and that the couple wanted to share parental duties for their two children, aged three and one.