The couple made the announcement on their Facebook pages, posting the first pictures of themselves together.

 

It comes after several weeks of speculation¹ about their relationship. 

 

Mr Woods was previously² married to Swedish model Elin Nordegren, but they divorced in 2010 after he revealed a series of extramarital affairs（婚外恋）.

 

The 37-year-old has since begun to rebuild his golfing career, and is showing signs of returning to the the form that allowed him to dominate world golf for a decade.

 

The BBC's David Willis in Los Angeles says Woods rarely discusses his private life, and the announcement and pictures may be a way of preventing the paparazzi from pursuing the couple in pursuit of a lucrative³ first photograph.

 

 

Woods wrote on his Facebook page: "Something nice that's happened off the course was meeting Lindsey Vonn. Lindsey and I have been friends for some time, but over the last few months we have become very close and are now dating."

 

Writing on her own page, Ms Vonn said: "I guess it wasn't a well-kept secret but yes, I am dating Tiger Woods.

 

"Our relationship evolved from a friendship into something more over these past few months and it has made me very happy."

 

Ms Vonn, 28, is regarded as one of the premier⁴（第一的） skier⁵ of her generation, having won gold at the 2010 winter Olympics and several world championships. 

 

Her season was recently cut short by a knee injury, however.

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