Court proceedings have begun in the case against Tiger Woods.
On Tuesday afternoon, Woods pleaded not guilty DUI charges stemming from a rollover crash in Jupiter, Fla. on Friday afternoon, according to court documents obtained by GOLF. The 15-time major champion has also retained the services of Douglas Duncan, an attorney who served on his DUI case in 2017 after Woods was found asleep at the wheel of his car and tested positive for five different substances in a toxicology report. Ultimately, two of the three misdemeanor charges against Woods were dropped in that case, and the golfer pleaded guilty only to careless driving.
Woods, 50, has been the story of the golf world in the week leading up to the Masters after crashing his drive on a fairway in Jupiter, Fla. on Friday afternoon. The collision, which occurred when Woods attempted to pass a rollover truck with a trailer attached, resulted in Woods’ Range Rover flipping onto its driver’s side. After police responded to the crash scene, officers observed Woods “sweating profusely” and appearing “lethargic and sluggish,” according to an affidavit. After administering a field sobriety test to the lead 15 times, an officer from the Martin County Sheriff’s Department charged him with driving under the influence.
After searching the scene of the accident, officers also found two hydrocodone pills in Woods’ pocket. The well-prescribed opioid was one of several substances that arrived on Woods’ toxicology report in 2017. On Tuesday afternoon, Woods announced his intention to seek treatment for unspecified issues.
“I know and understand the seriousness of the situation I find myself in today,” Woods said. “I am stepping away for a period of time to seek treatment and focus on my health. This is necessary in order to prioritize my well-being and work towards a long-term recovery.”
Friday’s incident was not Woods’ first serious accident behind the wheel. In 2021, he suffered severe injuries to his right leg after a car accident in Rolling Hills Estates, California, while on his way to a magazine shoot. At the time of that accident, the recorder in Woods’ car caught him driving nearly twice the speed limit. It took the “jaws of life” to extricate him from the crash, and Woods’ leg was badly damaged. In Friday’s DUI report, the Martin County Sheriff’s Department quotes Woods as saying he has had more than 20 surgeries on his foot since the injury in 2021.
Before Friday, the familiar puff of anticipatory energy had begun to swirl around Woods’ golf game. The 82-time PGA Tour winner had returned to competitive golf for the first time since rupturing his Achilles in March of last year, competing in the TGL Finals just two weeks from the start of the Masters. Despite his playing status, Woods was scheduled to be in Augusta for the official reopening of The Patch, a local municipal course renovated by Augusta National with the help of Woods’ design firm.
