Tiger Woods, Lindsey Vonn Rumors of Romance Heat Up; Golfer With New Girlfriend?

As much as pro-golfer Tiger Woods and Olympic skiing champion Lindsey Vonn try to avoid rumors of their secret romance, the speculation between the two professional althetes just won't die down!  A number of news outlets including CBS Sports and PEOPLE have reported that the two are indeed a couple.  And Vonn's devastating injury during the Alpine World Championships last week didn't help to quell the speculation as reports say that the Olympic downhill champion returned home to the US on a private jet owned by Woods.

An inside source told PEOPLE that "Tiger and Lindsey have been friends for a while, and nothing started out romantically at all, but they really have a lot in common and got closer and closer. He still refers to her as 'my very good friend,' but he's been spending more and more time talking to her - and talking about her."  The sourced added that Vonn isn't bother by Woods' past as a serial cheater who had multiple affairs while he was married to Swedish model Elin Nordegren.  "She's not freaked out by his past, and that's really appealing to him," says the source. "He really does deserve to be happy. He has been flogging himself for three years, and it's good to see him moving forward."

After finalizing her divorce last month, Vonn issued a statement in order to head off questions at the world championships. "Lindsey is currently in the midst of the World Cup season in Europe," the statement read. "Her focus is solely on competing and on defending her titles and thus she will not participate in any speculation surrounding her personal life at this time."

On Sunday, the 28-year-old ski winner underwent a successful surgery to repair her two ligaments.  Doctors say that with the surgery and aggressive rehab she should be able to make a full recovery.

"The overall success rate for ACL-MCL [anterior cruciate ligament-medial collateral ligament] surgery is very good," sais Dr. William Sterett, the physician for the U.S. ski team who performed the surgery at the in Colorado. "Modern surgical techniques combined with aggressive rehabilitation will help Lindsey make a full recovery.