Tiger Woods stated he’s stepping away to hunt therapy, 4 days after his vehicle crashed in Florida and he was arrested on suspicion of driving beneath the affect. He’ll miss the Masters for the second straight 12 months.
“That is vital to ensure that me to prioritise my well-being and work towards lasting restoration,” Woods stated in social media posts.
Woods pleaded not responsible in his driving beneath the affect case in Florida on Tuesday (March 31, 2026), hours after a sheriff’s report stated deputies discovered two ache drugs in his pocket and he confirmed indicators of impairment after his SUV clipped a trailer and rolled over on its facet.
The web courtroom docket for Martin County confirmed Woods entered a written plea of not responsible and deliberate to waive his April 23 arraignment listening to.
It is the second time Woods has taken a go away following a automobile crash. In 2009, after his SUV ploughed into a hearth hydrant and a tree exterior his residence close to Orlando, he took a go away of absence to work on being a greater individual. That lasted 4 months, and he returned on the Masters.
Woods confirmed indicators of impairment
Woods’ eyes had been bloodshot and glassy, his pupils dilated and he had opioid drugs — recognized as hydrocodone — on him when interviewed on the scene of the crash, in keeping with the arrest report launched by the Martin County Sheriff’s Workplace.
Woods’ actions had been gradual and torpid, he was sweating as he talked to deputies within the again seat of an air-conditioned automobile and he informed them he had taken prescription medicine earlier within the morning, in keeping with the report.
Golfer Tiger Woods stands by his overturned automobile in Jupiter Island. File
| Picture Credit score:
AP
Woods informed deputies he had been taking a look at his telephone and fidgeting with the radio moments earlier than he hit the trailer, the report stated.
Woods has not performed an official occasion for the reason that 2024 British Open. He was recovering from a seventh again surgical procedure in October and was attempting to return on the Masters, the place he’s a five-time champion.
“I am dedicated to take the time wanted to return in a more healthy, stronger and extra centered place, each personally and professionally,” Woods stated in his assertion.
He takes a break from the PGA Tour board. Meaning a break from extra than simply golf. He serves a key position on the PGA Tour board by main its Future Competitors Committee, reshaping the schedule. A tour spokesman stated Woods didn’t participate in Tuesday’s assembly, and the work would proceed in his absence.
“During the last 12 months, I’ve come to deeply recognize Tiger not just for his affect on the sport, however for his friendship and the angle he has shared with me as I joined the golf trade,” stated PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp, who began final summer season. “My ideas are with him and his household as he takes this step, for which he has my full respect and assist.”
Woods’ defence lawyer, Douglas Duncan, did not reply to an e mail and telephone name after the plea was entered on Tuesday.
Woods was touring at excessive speeds on a beachside, residential street on Jupiter Island with a 30 mph (practically 50 kph) when the accident occurred. The truck had $5,000 in harm, in keeping with the report.
The truck driver and one other individual helped Woods out of his automobile by way of the passenger window. Neither Woods nor the truck driver had been injured.
The failed sobriety take a look at
Throughout a subject sobriety take a look at, deputies observed Woods limping and that he had a compression sock over his proper knee. Woods defined he had undergone seven again surgical procedures and over 20 surgical procedures on his proper leg, and that his ankle seizes up whereas strolling.
Woods, who was hiccupping throughout questioning, constantly moved his head throughout one of many sobriety exams and deputies needed to inform him a number of instances to maintain his head straight, the report stated.
“Based mostly on my observations of Woods, how he carried out the workouts and primarily based on my coaching, data, and expertise, I believed that Woods regular colleges had been impaired, and he was unable to soundly function the motorcar,” the deputy wrote after the exams.
Woods’ troubles
Woods, 50, is essentially the most influential determine in golf and has grow to be as recognisable as any athlete on the earth. The primary individual of Black heritage to win the Masters in 1997, he has captivated golf followers with data seemingly by no means to be damaged.
However his accidents have saved him from conducting extra, together with these suffered within the 2021 automobile crash in Los Angeles that broken his proper leg so badly he stated docs thought-about amputation.
At this newest crash, Woods agreed to a Breathalyzer take a look at that confirmed no indicators of alcohol, however he refused a urine take a look at, authorities stated. He was arrested and launched on bail eight hours later.
Woods, who has been concerned in 4 crashes over time, is charged with driving beneath the affect with property harm and refusal to undergo a lawful take a look at.
Beneath a change to Florida regulation final 12 months, refusing a regulation enforcement officer’s request to take a breath, blood or urine take a look at turned a misdemeanor, even for a primary offense.
Revealed – April 01, 2026 12:54 pm IST
