Tiger Woods Wife Seeks Divorce

Elin with daughter Sam

Before taking her two children with her to her native Sweden for the holidays – without husband (and father of the kids) Tiger Woods – Elin Nordegren reportedly is consulting with veteran Hollywood divorce attorney Sorrell Trope.

Having practiced since 1949 and representing everyone from the much-married screen legend Cary Grant, as well as Nicole Kidman, Nicolas Cage, Hugh Grant and Britney Spears, Trope has built a reputation as a hard-nosed negotiator, reports New York's Daily News.

Speaking to the newspaper, Manhattan divorce lawyer Robert Wallack called Trope, 82, "the dean of the California matrimonial bar," while Beverly Hills-based family law arbitrator Alexandra Leichter said, "He's in a class of maybe 12 or 15 lawyers that handles very high-asset, high-income divorces with contentious custody cases."

Trope did not return calls seeking comment on his alleged involvement in the Woods-Nordegren marriage, which has come under the scrutiny since it was revealed (and later confirmed by Woods himself) that the world's No. 1 golfer has committed a series of sexual transgressions.

Photos circulated this week, showing Nordegren, 29, pumping gas into her vehicle near the couple's home in Windermere, Fla., last Saturday, also captured the Swedish-born former nanny and mother of two (Sam, 2, and Charlie, 10 months), not wearing her wedding ring – fueling speculation of where the marriage was headed, though a source told PEOPLE the absence of the band "meant nothing."

Still, another source told PEOPLE about Nordegren, 29, "She plans to leave Tiger."

Woods's Whereabouts
As for Woods, 33, who has not been seen in public since his early morning one-carcrash the day after Thanksgiving, an unconfirmed report in the London Sun says he is in isolation, spending his time eating cereal and watching cartoons – and his nights hitting golf balls.

His NBA-star friend Charles Barkley has also voiced concern over the fact Woods is not responding to his attempts to reach out to the embattled golfer. "I've been trying to get to him and can't. It's very frustrating," Barkley is quoted as saying.

If it is any solace, on Thursday night the Golf Writers of America named Woods the group's Golfer of the Year, with 84 percent of the vote. The honor marks the 10th time in 13 seasons Woods received the award.