Tiger New Bride Turned Away in Puerto Rico

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico -- Tiger Woods and his bride were briefly detained Thursday by U.S. Coast Guard officers on their yacht Privacy, then were turned away from San Juan’s port because they had failed to notify authorities of their arrival.

Since July 1, new security regulations require many boats to submit an arrival notice at least four days before entering a U.S. port, Coast Guard spokesman Lt. Eric Willis said.

The 28-year-old golfer and Swedish model Elin Nordegren, 24, were married Oct. 5 at a luxury resort in Barbados and later set out on the Privacy, along with a crew.

The yacht entered San Juan’s port at about noon Thursday and a Coast Guard boat stopped it, Willis said. Five Coast Guard officers boarded the yacht and escorted it to port, he said.

‘They were not supposed to be here because they didn’t notify us,’ Willis said.

Eight people were on board, and they said they made their last port call in St. Kitts.

The crew was held for about 31/2 hours, then a Coast Guard boat escorted the yacht out of San Juan port. It was not clear were they were headed, but it was ‘outside the United States,’ Willis said.

The Privacy’s captain said he did not know the new security regulations applied to Puerto Rico, a U.S. territory, Willis said.

The captain said he decided to stop in San Juan only to refuel, Willis said. The Privacy was allowed to refuel as immigration authorities spoke with those aboard, including the newlyweds.

Willis said the yacht is registered in the Cayman Islands to the Privacy Ltd. holding company, which Woods owns.

The company could face up to $32,500 in fines, although it is up to the Coast Guard’s captain of the port, Willis said.

Woods is expected to return to the PGA Tour on Oct. 21 for the Funai Classic in Lake Buena Vista, Fla.

Before his wedding, Woods played in the American Express Championship at the Mount Juliet Golf Course in Thomastown, Ireland. He finished ninth, and fell to No. 3 in the world for the first time since May 1999.

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