Champion golfer Tiger Woods has been taken into custody and charged after he was involved in a serious car crash in Florida.
The rollover crash occurred just after 2pm (local time) on Friday not far from where Woods lives in Jupiter Island in Florida, the Martin County Sheriff’s Office told media outlets.
It has been reported that there were no serious injuries and police said it could “have been a lot worse”.
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Florida’s Martin County Sheriff John Budensiek later confirmed that Woods showed “signs of impairment” at the time of the accident.
Budensiek said Woods had tried to overtake a truck “at high speeds” before he swerved and rolled his Land Rover.
“When it came time for us to ask for a urinalysis test, he refused, and so he has been charged with DUI, property damage and refusal to submit to a lawful test,” Budensiek said.
Budensiek said Woods “crawled out of the passenger door” before police arrived.
“He was identified to be Mr Tiger Woods,” Budensiek said Woods.
“Our DUI (Driving Und the Influence) investigators came to the scene, and Mr Woods did exemplify signs of impairment. They they did several tests on him.
“Of course, he did explain the injuries and the (past) surgeries that he has had (and) we did take that into account, but they did do some in-depth roadside tests, and when it was determined (there was an issue), he was placed under arrest and taken to the Martin County Jail.
“At the Martin County Jail, and even on scene, we really weren’t suspicious of alcohol being involved in this case, and that proved to be true at the jail. So Mr Woods did a breathalyser test, blew triple zeros, but when it came time for us to ask for a urinalysis test, he refused.”
Budensiek said Woods did not seem to be injured in the crash and another man involved was also not injured.
It is unclear if Woods was wearing a seat belt.
The news has rocked the country and even forced President Donald Trump to issue a statement.
“I feel so badly … He’s got some difficulty,” Trump told reporters.
“There was an accident and that’s all I know. A very close friend of mine — he’s an amazing person, an amazing man …. but some difficulty.”
Woods’ manager at Excel Sports did not immediately respond to inquiries.
This was at least the third time Woods has been involved in a car crash, most recently in February 2021 when his SUV ran off a coastal road in Los Angeles at a high rate of speed, leading to multiple leg and ankle injuries.
Woods later said about that crash that doctors considered amputation.
Woods has played 11 tournaments since that accident, not finishing closer than within 16 shots of the winner the four times he finished 72 holes.
He also was arrested on a DUI charge in 2017 when south Florida police found him asleep behind the wheel of his car that was parked awkwardly with damage to the driver’s side. Woods said then he had taken a bad mix of painkillers and later pleaded guilty to reckless driving.
Woods won his fifth Masters, and 15th major, in 2019. He has 82 wins on the PGA Tour, tied for the all-time record with Sam Snead.
He had been working his way back to golf from a seventh back surgery in September. He had not decided whether he could play in the Masters on April 9-12.
His last official tournament was the British Open in 2024. Woods ruptured his Achilles tendon in March 2025 and that kept him off the course all season even before the back surgery. He managed to play in his indoor TGL golf league on Tuesday night.
He has kept deeply involved in PGA Tour affairs as chairman of the Future Competition Committee that is restructuring the model of the tour.
Woods also faced a soft deadline at the end of the month to decide whether to become US Ryder Cup captain for the 2027 matches in Ireland.
– With AP
