Tiger Woods charged with driving under influence after crash

Tiger Woods has been arrested on charges of driving under the influence after rolling his car in a crash in Florida, authorities have confirmed.

The Martin County Sheriff’s Office said the 15-time major champion had also been charged with property damage and refusal to submit to a lawful test.

Woods, 50, rolled his Land Rover after clipping a truck in Jupiter Island on Friday afternoon, according to Sheriff John Budensiek, who added that officers had not suspected the golfing legend of impairment by alcohol but possibly by an unknown substance.

The golfer, who had to crawl out of the passenger door, passed a breathalyser test after the crash but refused a urine test. No one was injured.

Sheriff Budensiek told reporters at a news conference that the crash had happened after Woods allegedly attempted to overtake a pressure cleaner truck at a “high rate of speed”.

DUI investigators came to the scene and “Mr Woods did exemplify signs of impairment”, the sheriff said.

“They did several tests on him,” Budensiek told reporters. “He did explain the injuries and surgeries that he’s had and we did take that into account, but they did some in-depth roadside tests.”

He was placed under arrest after the incident, which took place on Beach Road in Jupiter Island just before 14:00 (19:00 GMT) on Friday.

The sheriff explained that investigators at the scene and jail were “really not suspicious of alcohol being involved” and Woods ultimately passed a breathalyser test with “triple zeros”. But, he added, Woods then refused a urine test.

Budensiek also said Woods had been “co-operative but was trying not to incriminate himself”.

“He has a right to refuse that test,” added the sheriff. “There is a statute which he will be charged with for refusing to take that test, but we will never get definitive results as to what he was impaired on at the time of the crash.”

US President Donald Trump was asked about the crash on Friday, saying: “I feel so badly. [Woods has] got some difficulty. There was an accident. That’s all I know.

“He’s a very close friend of mine, he’s an amazing person, an amazing man.”

Sheriff Budensiek said Woods would remain in jail for eight hours then be released on bond. The charges are misdemeanours, not felonies.

The BBC has contacted the golfer’s representatives for comment.

This is not the first time Woods has been involved in a car accident – he has played a limited schedule since the serious crash in 2021 that left him with extensive injuries and fortunate to be alive.

In 2017 police officers also found him slumped at the wheel of his parked Mercedes-Benz not far from his Florida home.

A toxicology report found Woods had had several legal medications in his system and marijuana’s active ingredient, and he was sentenced to a year’s probation after pleading guilty to reckless driving.

In 2009 Woods hit a fire hydrant, a tree and several hedges in a bizarre collision outside his home.

The incident sparked accusations of extramarital affairs which led to the end of his seven-year marriage and the loss of lucrative sponsorship deals.

This is another unfortunate situation for Woods, who has been recovering from an Achilles tendon rupture in March 2025 and back surgery in October.

Earlier this week he competed in the TGL indoor league finals – his first competitive golf for more than a year – and had not ruled out playing in April’s Masters, a tournament he has a huge affinity for.

Woods has triumphed five times at Augusta National, which was the scene of his first major title in 1997 and also his most recent in 2019.

That victory was arguably his greatest achievement in golf given the number of injuries he had to overcome to collect a fifth Green Jacket.

However, the sight of him grittily limping through four rounds on that same course in 2022, just 14 months after a life-threatening crash, also lives long in the memory.

Woods, whose 82 career wins are level with Sam Snead for the all-time PGA Tour record, has not competed at a major since missing the cut at the Open in July 2024.

He last made the cut at the 2024 Masters, where he finished 60th.

This is another huge setback for one of the all-time great sporting figures, who has suffered massive injury problems for the best part of two decades now.

Woods is battling to try to be fit for the Masters, which takes place in less than two weeks.

We saw him hitting golf shots competitively in the indoor TGL league at the start of this week – that was the first time since July 2024 we had seen him playing golf.

He did not seem overly optimistic he would be fit, but he was really trying to be at Augusta for the Masters.

That looks ever more unlikely given the scenario that is playing out in Florida.