Tiger Woods, girlfriend engaged

Golf superstar and all-around nice guy Tiger Woods has become engaged to his Swedish sweetie, Elin Nordegren.

"She called this morning and was incredibly happy," Nordegren's father, Thomas, told the Swedish newspaper Expressen. "I only spoke shortly with them on the telephone, but they were happy and I congratulated them."

A spokesman for the Shamwari Game Reserve in South Africa said Woods, 27, proposed to the 23-year-old model Tuesday during a walk at the game park outside Port Elizabeth. Woods had been in Fancourt, South Africa, for the Presidents Cup, which ended Sunday. The couple reportedly spent the night under the stars in sleeping bags and prepared their own food. But they left in style aboard a private jet, with Nordegren sporting a "huge diamond on her finger."

Picking at Lennon's bones again

* In creepy memorabilia news, the album John Lennon autographed for Mark David Chapman, the man who assassinated the former Beatles leader, went up for sale yesterday for $525,000.

The copy of Double Fantasy, by Lennon and his wife, Yoko Ono, sold for $460,000 four years ago, and is on sale again because of the recent frenzy of interest in Beatles ware, according to the owner of the Web site that is selling it.

"Beatles memorabilia is at an all-time peak," said Gary Zimet, owner of www.momentsintime.com. According to the site, the album's cover and dust jacket contain the "forensically enhanced" fingerprints of Chapman. No comment on the creep factor.

Bryson's tax woes

* In slightly pathetic auction news, the beloved Internal Revenue Service will seek to recover more than $1 million in back taxes from R&B vocalist Peabo Bryson by auctioning off some of his personal belongings, from dishware to Grammy Awards.

Bryson, 52, who has nine gold records as a singer and producer, won a Grammy in 1992 for his recording of "Beauty and the Beast" with Celine Dion and another in '93 for "A Whole New World" with Regina Belle.

On Aug. 21, the IRS seized property from Bryson's Atlanta-area mansion. They will hawk his wares Dec. 5 and 6, with the first day devoted to electronic and recording equipment and the second to Bryson's personal items, including a grand piano and a signed copy of Nelson Mandela's Long Walk to Freedom.

Unreal couple

* We knew this would happen: Reality-TV doofus Bob Guiney, who picked Estella Gardinier at the conclusion of ABC's The Bachelor but gave her a ring to wear on her right hand, ain't keeping company with the gal anymore.