Tiger Woods was arrested and booked into the Martin County Jail on a DUI charge, among other charges, after being involved in a rollover car crash on Friday afternoon in Jupiter Island, Florida.
The two-car crash occurred shortly before 2 p.m. ET near the 280 block of South Beach Road in Jupiter Island, Florida, not far from Woods’ home in Hobe Sound, Martin County sheriff John Budensiek said in a press conference a few hours after the incident.
Budensiek said that a pickup truck pulling a pressure-cleaning trailer was traveling northbound on South Beach Road, where the sped limit is 35 mph, before attempting to pull into a driveway. At that time, the driver of the pickup looked in his rearview mirror and saw an SUV, determined to be a Range Rover driven by Woods, overtaking him at high speed. As the pickup driver tried to evade the fast-approaching SUV on the small, two-lane road, Woods’ SUV swerved left, though still clipping the trailer. The collision caused Woods’ SUV to rollover onto the driver’s side and slid some distance before coming to a rest.
There were no injuries to either driver, and Woods was able to climb out the passenger door. There were no other occupants in either vehicle.
However, DUI investigators were called to the scene and determined that Woods, per Budensiek, was “lethargic” and “did exemplify signs of impairment.” Several in-depth, roadside tests were conducted, taking into account Woods’ injury history and physical limitations, and Woods was then placed under arrest and booked into the Martin County Jail.
Budensiek stated that alcohol was not involved, as Woods blew “triple zeroes” on a breathalyzer test, but Woods refused to take a urinalysis. Budensiek added that investigators believed that Woods was under the influence of “some type of medication or drug.”
“He was cooperative, but he was not trying to incriminate himself,” Budensiek said. "... The urine [analysis], he wanted no part of. ... We will never get definitive results as to what he was impaired on at the time of the crash.”
In addition to DUI, Woods was also charged with property damage and a refusal to submit to a lawful test. Florida law requires persons to be incarcerated at least eight hours following a DUI arrest. Woods is not being kept with other inmates.
“Had there been somebody moving in the opposite direction, we would not be having a conversation saying there were no injuries,” Budensiek said. “This could’ve been a lot worse.”
Golf Channel has reached out to Woods’ manager at Excel Sports and is awaiting a response.
In February 2021, Woods was severely injured in a rollover crash outside of Los Angeles. Woods had to be removed from the vehicle after the one-car, high-speed crash, and he underwent multiple surgeries on his right leg and ankle.
Before Friday’s crash, Woods had been contemplating whether he would compete in the Masters in two weeks. He hasn’t competed since the 2024 Open Championship after undergoing his seventh back operation last October, though he did play Tuesday night’s TGL finals match for his Jupiter Links team. He also entered this summer’s U.S. Senior Open, it was reported earlier Friday, but had not officially committed to play in the PGA Tour Champions’ major.