Elin Nordegren’s Palm Beach Mansion ‘Putts’ Life After Tiger Woods Back on Course

Former Swedish model Elin Nordegren has mounted a more successful comeback than her ex-husband, golf superstar Tiger Woods.

With her home wrecked by Woods’ well-publicized infidelity, she understandably did what any jilted person with a $100 million divorce settlement would do—she wrecked a home, too. But this time, the wrecking ball was to clear a path for her new life—and her new home in North Palm Beach, Florida.

Nordegren bulldozed the historic oceanfront mansion she bought in 2011 for $12.2 million (with the divorce settlement cash) and virtually built an upgraded, luxurious version of the same home. Why? According to People magazine, an architect and structural engineer suggested it made more sense (economically and structurally) to rebuild the home from scratch to bring the 1920s-built residence up to modern hurricane safety standards.

Prior to demolition, Nordegren charitably offered up the home and its contents (cabinets, fixtures, hardware, etc. totaling tens of thousands of dollars) for Habitat for Humanity. The removal of windows uncovered termite and carpenter ant damage to the 90-year-old mansion. Perhaps the home, crumbling from the inside out, was metaphor for Nordegren’s life at the time. You can’t fix a disintegrating house. Time to start over. Nordegren reportedly spent in excess of $20 million between the original residence and the rebuilt mansion, not counting a guest house secured during renovation.

According to recorded blueprints, Nordegren’s new nine-bedroom digs in the gated community of Seminole Landing boasts eight bathrooms, a 1,182-square-foot kitchen, a 1,000-square-foot master bedroom with Atlantic Ocean views, a state-of-the-art 1,102-square-foot gym, and a stadium-seating theater in the basement.

The 21,000-square-foot mansion also features a cedar-shake roof, French doors, a wine room, great room, family room, library and kids’ playroom. Outdoor highlights include a swimming pool, a cabana, a Koi pond, and a putting green with two bunkers. Presumably the bunkers aren’t meant to trap bad golfers (or golfers who behave badly) but rather serve as a buffer to keep them away (you know who we mean…and he hates bunkers). Nordegren was an au pair for professional golfer and fellow Swede Jesper Parnevik and his wife, who admittedly regretted introducing her to Woods.

Now Nordegren is charting a new course in life—family, home, and even graduating with psychology degree from Rollins College in Orlando. Life on the golf course is filled with hazards. Nordegren negotiated those hazards with class. Judging from her new mansion, we suspect she still plays golf. She may rest easier knowing that while she’s making putts on her home green, her ex is consistently missing them on major championship greens. But then again, she has a major home course advantage.