Tiger Woods wears creepy skeleton mask to surprise Lindsey Vonn at finish line

Tiger Woods startled Lindsey Vonn by greeting her at the finish line after she broke the record for women’s Alpine skiing World Cup wins Monday.

That’s really only fair since his girlfriend has popped up at several of his golf tournaments since the two announced they were dating almost two years ago. But what may surprise Woods watchers more than the unexpected appearance of the former world No. 1 in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, when he could be practicing his short game ahead of his start at next week’s Phoenix Open, was Vonn’s assertion that her boyfriend wears a mask when he travels.

A skeleton mask.

“My dad said, ‘Hey, look, I found someone,’” Vonn said on the Today Show, according to NBCSports.com about the arrival of Woods, whom she recognized despite the camouflage that sheathed half his face.

“I knew it was him immediately,” said Vonn, who set the World Cup mark a day after matching it. “He loves that stupid mask.”

Woods, who, with his daughter Sam, witnessed Vonn’s record-tying run online from his home in Florida at 5 a.m., reportedly roamed around dressed as a skeleton for some time before greeting and hugging his superstar girlfriend.

All righty, then. The last time Woods saw Vonn compete was Dec. 21, 2013, when she skied off the course in her last race before undergoing knee surgery.

“This is a much better memory [than Val d’Isere] that we can have forever,” Vonn said after Woods joined her and several members of her family who had been on hand for the weekend’s proceedings.

Vonn’s mom, by the way, approves of her daughter’s beau. “I’ve met him,” Lindy Lund told The Associated Press. “Nice guy. I like him.”

We’re guessing that was apparent before she saw him in that mask, which, by the way, would be an awesome accessory (with the requisite swoosh, of course) for Woods to wear -- and toss, er, hand gingerly, to the crowd -- at the 16th hole at TPC Scottsdale.