Woods ties the knot

Woods and Nordegren are staying in Barbados amid tight security

Tiger Woods married Swedish model Elin Nordegren in a lavish but top secret £1m ceremony at an exclusive resort in Barbados on Tuesday.

The 28-year-old former world number one booked out the Sandy Lane complex for 120 guests amid tight security.

Guests included basketball stars Michael Jordan and Charles Barkley.

The bride's father Thomas Nordegren said: "Elin and Tiger want to keep this as a family thing. I'm sorry I can't give you any more information."

Woods and the 24-year-old former nanny exchanged vows at the 19th hole of the Sandy Lane Golf Resort.

Nordegren wore an off-white sleeveless gown, according to the witnesses, while Woods wore a beige suit.

The couple are reported to have exchanged rings under an arch of flowers in a white netted pagoda.

Privacy, the yacht Woods is reported to have hired in Barbados

"They said 'I do' at 5:40 pm [2240 BST]," said a reporter with the government-owned Caribbean Broadcasting Corporation.

Woods' father, Earl, arrived at the resort about three hours before the wedding in a silver Rolls-Royce.

At the reception he cried after giving a speech, according to witnesses who preferred to remain anonymous.

Reports also said that the rock group Hootie and the Blowfish performed under a tent at the 19th hole of the Green Monkey golf course before fireworks lit up the night skyline along Barbados' west coast.

A massive security operation to keep away prying eyes included sheets of plywood and large plants being hoisted to block views of the event, while Barbados police, private guards and the Barbados Coast Guard were also visible in numbers.

Woods is also said to have booked out the only helicopter charter company on the island in a bid to prevent the media from flying over the ceremony.

The golf star, who is expected to become the first sporting dollar billionaire, hired the five-star complex for a week, including its 110 rooms and three golf courses.

The rooms at the hotel go for £400 to £4,500 per night, according to its website.

A vast number of black roses were delivered to the hotel and a team of hairdressers from London were flown in.

There's such a brouhaha around it, so I chose to play instead Jesper Parnevik, who introduced Woods and Nordegren

A £32m, 150ft yacht, named Privacy, was anchored off the beach for guests, who were also said to include Oprah Winfrey, Bill Gates and Serena Williams.

Woods is believed to be spending his honeymoon on board the yacht, which he hired for two weeks.

The pair met when Nordegren was working as a nanny for Swedish golfer Jesper Parnevik at the 2001 Open.

Woods proposed last December at a game reserve in South Africa, where he was playing in the Presidents Cup.

Parnevik skipped the wedding to play in this week's Michelin Championship in Las Vegas.

"There's such a brouhaha around it, so I chose to play instead," he told Swedish tabloid Aftonbladet. Parnevik said he and his wife "will celebrate Tiger and Elin later, a bit more privately".

Woods was playing in the WGC-American Express Championship in Ireland on Sunday and declined to disclose details of his Caribbean holiday.

"I'm ready to go diving. I'm ready to hop in that water and shoot some fish," said Woods.

"All I can say is that I'm getting married in the future. I've narrowed it down to that."

The eight-time major winner has recently been passed by Fiji's Vijay Singh and South African Ernie Els in the world rankings.