Tiger Woods is in jail Friday after being arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence, according to Martin County Sheriff John Budensiek.
Woods was driving a Land Rover and clipped a pickup truck pulling a small trailer, Budensiek told reporters. The collision caused Woods’ Land Rover to roll onto its side.
When police arrived on scene, Woods showed signs of impairment, Budensiek said.
“Our DUI investigators came to the scene here. And Mr. Woods did exemplify the signs of impairment,” Budensiek said, adding that Woods will face charges of driving under the influence, property damage and refusal to submit to a lawful test.
The investigation showed that Woods appeared to be driving erratically in the moments before the crash.
“Our investigation revealed as follows: Shortly again, before 2 (p.m.), the pressure cleaner truck pulling a trailer, a small trailer, was northbound on South Beach Road and was pulling kind of to turn into a driveway,” Budensiek said. “It was slowing down, starting to turn into a driveway and the driver of that vehicle looked in his mirror and saw a Land Rover, a dark-colored Land Rover, overtaking him at high speeds. And I don’t know those speeds.”
He added, “The Land Rover kept overtaking him. He saw it coming, so he tried to edge off to the side of the road. But, this is a small, two-lane road, and there was no shoulder for this pressure-cleaner gentleman to get off the side of the road. As he was trying to move to the side of the road, the Land Rover overtook him (and) at the last minute swerved to avoid a collision, but clipped the back end of the trailer of the pressure-cleaner apparatus, listed to the side and then rolled on to the driver’s door north past the truck that had just avoided the crash.”
“The individual driving that Land Rover was able to crawl out the passenger door of the car and was identified to be Mr. Tiger Woods.”
Budensiek said Woods was cooperative but was “not trying to incriminate himself.”
“He was careful in what he said and didn’t say. When it came time for the test – urine test at the jail, he stopped that,” Budensiek continued.
Budensiek added that Woods was not under the influence of alcohol.
“Woods did a breathalyzer test, blew triple zeros, but when it came time for us to ask for a urinalysis test, he refused, and so he’s been charged with DUI,” he said.
CNN has reached out to Woods’ representatives for comment on Friday’s crash.
Woods was uninjured in the accident and has been taken to jail where policy states he will be held for at least eight hours.
Budensiek downplayed if Woods would get “preferential treatment” while in custody.
“We are the Sheriff’s Office. We know we arrested a high-profile figure, I am not trying to dramatize but it doesn’t matter who you are. If you break the law, we are going to follow the law. Thats a really easy path to take,” Budensiek said.
However, Budensiek added they will make sure Woods is “safe” and will not put him in general population.
The 50-year-old Woods is currently on the golf comeback trail after rupturing his Achilles just over a year ago and then undergoing his seventh back surgery late last year.
Amid speculation that Woods would mark his comeback by participating in his 27th Masters next month, the 15-time major winner made his debut in TGL earlier this week.
Woods hasn’t participated in a golf tournament since July 2024, when he missed the cut at the Open Championship at Royal Troon Golf Club in Scotland.
When asked about a return to competitive golf, Woods said he is “trying” but his “body doesn’t recover like when I was 24/25.”
“Doesn’t mean I am not trying. Been trying for a while. I’ve had a couple bad injuries here in the past year,” Woods told reporters after the TGL match. “I’ve had to fight through, it’s taken some time. But I keep trying. I want to play.”
It’s not the first car accident, nor the first arrest for allegedly driving under the influence, the 82-time PGA winner has been involved in. He was previously arrested in 2017 for DUI and before that, was cited for careless driving in 2009.
Woods’ most recent car accident before Friday occurred in 2021 in Los Angeles. Since then, Woods has played in 11 tournaments the last five seasons, finishing only four of those tournaments.
Upon arrival in Miami, President Donald Trump expressed concern for Woods, who he called his “good friend.”
“I feel so badly,” Trump told reporters. “He’s got some difficulty. There was an accident and that’s all I know. ….(He’s a) very close friend of mine. He’s an amazing person, amazing man. … I don’t want to talk about it.”
Source: CNN
--Agencies
