Tiger set to buy $40m birthday present

by Charlie Mulqueen

12/30/05

Woods, who turns 30 today, has agreed to pay “in the neighbourhood” of $40 million for a 10-acre ocean front compound that includes a beach cottage and guesthouse. The 16,000-square foot home is in the same gated community where Greg Norman lives and is near Jesper Parnevik’s home.

If the deal goes through, the location of the new home in Martin County, just north of the Palm Beach County line, will have special meaning for Woods’ wife, Elin. She is Swedish and once worked as nanny for the Parnevik family. Swedish golf pros Per Ulrik-Johansson, Fredrik Jacobson and Richard Johnson also live in the area.

“ It’s a really high price and everyone’s blown away,” said Chappy Adams, president of Illustrated Properties in Palm Beach Gardens. It’s a record sale for Forbes magazine’s “most expensive ZIP code.”

More astounding than the price, though, is that Woods, who earned $89.4 million in 2004 in endorsements and tournament winnings, intends to tear down the 13-year-old main house in the 400 block of South Beach Road, real estate agents say.

“The main house is in very good condition, but I’d think that someone who paid that much would want to put their own stamp on it,” estate agent Dolly Peters said. “I’d be surprised if he didn’t tear it down.”

The property, which runs from the Intracoastal Waterway to the Atlantic Ocean, has four houses - the main house, two guest houses and a beach house - as well as two boat docks.

One of the deep-water docks might be big enough for Woods’ 155-foot-yacht, Privacy, which he keeps in North Palm Beach, sources familiar with the property say.

Woods’ house-hunting has caused a furore for some time, with Tiger sightings sparking excitement wherever he went. Last year he reportedly looked at the 18,000-square-foot Palazzo Serena in North Palm Beach, on the market for $33 million. His future bride also toured a 2-acre property in Seminole Landing last year.

Recently, Woods looked at another home on Jupiter Island, according to the owner of the house next door.

“I also saw him on the Jupiter Island golf course a few months back,” said the homeowner, who asked not to be identified.

As incredible as it sounds, Woods is welcome on the golf course, but it’s doubtful the three-time winner of the Masters Tournament would be invited to join the Jupiter Island Club, a resident of the publicity-shunning community said.

“No way - they don’t want anybody famous,” the resident said, asking to remain anonymous. “They are as low-key and unassuming as it gets. No stars, fame, publicity or press.”

Singer Celine Dion, who bought a $12.5m beachfront home this year - not far from the property Woods has under contract - also is likely to meet resistance, though she’s an avid golfer.

“I would say she’s not going to be a member of the club,” one local observer said. “You have to be sponsored, and they’ve never been big on movie stars and such.”

If the Jupiter Island deal closes, Woods certainly won’t lack partners for a foursome. Greg Norman owns a home on Jupiter Island, where then-President Clinton injured his ankle in a fall. Pro golfer Nick Price also calls 2.7-square-mile Jupiter Island home. Swedish professional golfer Fredrik Jacobson owns a home at Jupiter’s Medalist Club, Norman’s home course.

Woods’ existing home in Isleworth is modest by superstar standards, at least when compared with the mansions of neighbours such as Shaquille O’Neal, Vince Carter and Grant Hill. Woods’ lakefront home has 6,692 sq ft and eight bedrooms. He also owns a town house at the private club.

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