Tiger Woods was released from a short stint in a Florida jail tonight after being arrested earlier in the day for driving under the influence following a car crash. In his second official apprehension by police in the past decade, a red-eyed Woods had his mugshot made public not long before he exited the Martin County Jail at around 8:15 p.m. PT
Trying to sneak out a back door of the jail near his home, Woods was driven away in a chauffeured Cadillac. Officials for the Martin County Sheriff’s department would not confirm if Woods put up a bond or was arraigned after being behind bars for several hours. Reps for Woods did not respond Friday to Deadline’s request for comment on his arrest and condition.
Sheriff John Budensiek told the media today the crash happened just before 2 p.m. ET when Woods’ vehicle, which was going at a “high speed,” overtook a truck hauling a pressure cleaner trailer on a two-lane road with a 30 mph speed limit. Wood’s Land Rover supposedly swerved to avoid the trailer, however, it ended up clipping the back end of it. The Land Rover flipped and skidded to a stop with the driver’s door pinned against the ground.
Woods climbed out the passenger side, insisting he was unharmed. Sheriff Budensiek said Woods was “cooperative but not trying to incriminate himself.”
Woods blew a 0.00 on a breathalyzer test after showing signs of “impairment,” according to the Martin County Sheriff’s Office. In his second known car accident in , the golfer apparently told cops that he had a number of health issues and had several operations.
Still, Woods was charged Friday with driving under the influence with property damage, which could get his a year in jail, fines or probation. Also, being charged with failure to take a urine test after the rollover crash today of his Land Rover near his Jupitar Island home, Woods will almost surely have his license suspended for up to a year.
As it was, under Florida law, the golfer had to spend 8 hours behind bars. It seems Woods was not in the general population of the Martin County Jail.
More starkly, with a previous DUI from 2017 on his record, Woods could get jail time with this latest incident That 2017 DUI was almost in the exact same spot as the incident today, with the banged up Woods found to be under the influence of medication then.
To be specific, Woods in 2017 was found to have a mix of Xanex, Vicodin, Ambien, the harsh Dilaudid painkiller, and THC in his system.
In February 2021, Woods, who had recently undergone his fifth back surgery and has had multiple knee surgeries, had multiple leg injuries after a crash occurred on a residential street in Palos Verdes, California. Just like a 2009 incident, Woods, who been hosting the Genesis Invitational at Rivera County Club in Pacific Palisades over that weekend, was never charged in the 2021 crash – which was deemed an accident to much mockery.
Any judge, no matter how big a golf fan they are or are not, is going to have to take the DUI from 9 years ago into account in any sentencing out of what occurred Friday.
Donald Trump boards Air Force One in Miami to head to Palm Beach, Florida to spend the weekend at his Mar-a-Lago resort. (Photo:Getty)
A unusually circumspect Donald Trump spoke briefly about his “good friend” and what occurred Friday to Woods.
“He’s got some difficulty, .. I don’t want to talk about it- Trump said today on the tarmac next to Air Force One after giving a speech (Paramount‘s David Ellison was there) in Miami and heading down to his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach.
That good friend, who also dates Trump’s ex-daughter-in-law Vanessa, has seen his latest quest for golf glory and getting back on the PGA tour undermined in part by Trump this week.
Playing in the TGL Finals on March 4, and his Jupiter Links Golf Club losing to Los Angeles GC, Woods said of his hopes for the 2026 Masters. “I’ve been trying,” the 50-year-old golf superstar said after the TGL Final “This body just doesn’t recover like it did when I was 24 or 25. I want to play.”
In a live phone interview with Fox News’ The Five, on March 26, Trump threw ice cold water on that Augusta National appearance.
POTUS said that Woods would be not be participating in the April 9 starting Masters. “He will be there, but he won’t be playing in it,” Trump told the pane show hosts on Thursday of the five-time Masters champ.
As of tonight, Woods is still signed up for the July 2-5 U.S. Senior Open in Columbus, Ohio.
