Tiger's high school sweetheart recalls romance; prom photo is wondrous
Dec 16, 2009, 11:15 AM EST
So I’m kind of behind the curve on this one — by about 17 years — but the girl that Tiger Woods took to his senior prom has come out and told her story to at least two publications over the past couple of days, and I share them with you now. The reason? Just that I think it’s refreshing that a good-looking blonde is coming forward with a Tiger story that doesn’t involve cheating on his wife.
Dina Gravell (pictured in yearbook photo) met Woods in 1992 when she was 17 and he was 16, both attending Western High School in Anaheim. They dated for three years before Tiger wrote her a Dear John letter. On paper! It was a simpler time.
Link to their awesome prom photo following the jump.
From the New York Post (story includes prom photo):
It was fire and flames. We were in teenage love. It wasn’t love at first sight. It wasn’t a physical thing,” Gravell once told an interviewer.
But romance blossomed in the weeks to come as they lunched together and hung out with a circle of friends.
A sheepish Woods finally stepped up his game by asking Gravell to go to a movie.
Tiger ended the evening with an awkward embrace.
“At the end of the night I had to ask him: ‘Well, was that a date?’ He was all shy and embarrassed,” Gravell. “As we said goodbye, it was really awkward. You could tell he didn’t know whether to lunge for a kiss or not. So we had a hug instead.”
Gravell went on to say that Tiger’s parents made him end the relationship after he left for Stanford, because they were afraid she was a distraction. If they only knew that hot blondes tend to improve his game.
***
The Tiger Woods prom photo is epic [Sportress of Blogitude]
Tiger’s first love recalls a once-shy teen cub [New York Post]
Tiger Woods High School Girlfriend Says He Broke Up With Her By Letter [Radar Online]
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- Newsdiva - Dec 16, 2009 at 7:45 PM
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Hey MJ, if you just open your beedy little eyes and take a really good look around, you’ll also see a LOT of white boys with the Sisters.
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- TheotherSide - Dec 16, 2009 at 8:29 PM
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I would imagine the Swedish people are wondering why one of there own chose to marry an American.
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- roger d erickson - Dec 16, 2009 at 8:32 PM
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Yay, the thing is we all so bored in this life, we have to watch a nerd like tiger woods, lets face it with the braces and all, he wasn’t real chilly as a child, didnt hang to well, short from, with all the metal in the teeth stuff, and had to where one of those wire things round his head to hold it altogether, man, that would give anybody and inferiority complex, its typical for someone with a huge infocomplex, to try to recreate himself into something he thought would be so cool….yay, cool as ice…
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- Newsdiva - Dec 16, 2009 at 8:42 PM
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Ah to “TheotherSide” the proper way to spell THEIR as it applies to your post is T-H-E-I-R NOT THERE, which would refer to a place and not a group of people.
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- J. Hanson - Dec 16, 2009 at 9:33 PM
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holyhell !!!!
What a commentary on society.
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- cal orey - Dec 16, 2009 at 9:53 PM
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We need to move on. It’s a typical American Tragedy 21st century style. Tiger? I’m thinking if he’s single and a free agent (which may be in the stars) the thrill of the chase will be gone and philandering won’t be as exciting unless he’s married (again). And, certainly there are women who will step up to the plate. We need to move on.
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- TheotherSide - Dec 16, 2009 at 9:54 PM
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You’re right, of course. Are you a Swede dissing another American?
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- Martin King - Dec 16, 2009 at 10:22 PM
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I HAVE A DREAM – that one day men shall be judged by the content of their CHARACTER!
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- TheotherSide - Dec 16, 2009 at 10:32 PM
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Amen.
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- Bob Ripley - Dec 16, 2009 at 10:50 PM
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Ms. Gravell is very fortunate that her relationship with Tiger Woods lasted only three years. She could have ended up in Elin’s place, married to that adulterous punk.
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- LSUGirl - Dec 17, 2009 at 12:41 AM
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The reason so so so many of his tour mates and other celebs have remained quiet is because they too have skeletons. These guys are treated like royalty while on the road. Lots of girls and lots of opportunity. It doesn’t make cheating right or okay, but it’s a fact. He’s human, and told repeatedly how great he is — even when he’s being an ass (which is often). So many people who are dissing him have done the same. Is it because it was so many? He has more opportunities than most…and there are quite a few that are hating him right now who have cheated too…just not with a zillion. So…is cheating once or twice or three times and not getting caught okay? No it’s not okay, but it’s normal. There are too many stones being thrown by hypocrites.
Wouldn’t it be cool if Tiger (or anonymously through his media guys) offered $100,000 for proof (pics, videos, emails, etc) for any person (male and female) who could expose some of these reporters for their own transgressions and infidelities. I have a feeling…they’d shut up. It may cost him a couple of million to “reward” all of them, but, it would certainly take the focus off of him. I realize they are doing their jobs in a way, but, it has taken on a life of it’s own — fueled by the opinions of “news” anchors, reporters, etc. It’s time to give him a break. He cheated, and got caught. Honestly people, he’s more normal than ever now.
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- Mike John - Dec 17, 2009 at 3:06 AM
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Man, thanks! that’s Exactly what I need.
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- Riles - Dec 17, 2009 at 8:28 AM
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Rachel…………working the PMS…………….you go girl
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- Michael B Pasternack - Dec 17, 2009 at 10:02 AM
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I’m still waiting for the Tiger Woods-Sarah Palin home video ala’Paris Hilton
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- Movieava - Dec 21, 2009 at 5:24 AM
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You just got a daily visitor
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- Michael Ferro - Jan 16, 2010 at 10:50 AM
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lol, Paris is so wild! I love her.
