A breathalyser test cleared Woods of driving under the influence of alcohol, but he refused a urine analysis and officers at the scene determined he was impaired by an unknown substance.
Police found two hydrocodone painkiller pills on Woods, who told deputies he takes “a few” prescription medications.
Woods, who has undergone multiple back operations and surgeries on severe leg injuries he suffered in a 2021 California car crash, pleaded not guilty on Wednesday to DUI.
But he issued a statement saying he was “stepping away for a period of time to seek treatment and focus on my health”.
That decision means Woods won’t play in or attend the upcoming Masters tournament at Augusta National, where he is a five-time champion.
The 15-time major champion hasn’t teed it up in a top-level golf event since the 2024 British Open.
He has become a key figure shaping plans to revamp the US PGA Tour schedule, but the PGA of America announced on Thursday he will not captain the 2027 US Ryder Cup team.
Martin County Court judge Darren Steele on Thursday granted Woods’ request to leave the country to seek treatment.
In his motion to travel, Woods’ attorney Douglas Duncan cited the golfer’s urgent need for an “intensive, highly individualised and medically integrated programme” as well as privacy from media and public scrutiny.
Celebrity news website TMZ reported today that Woods’ private jet had landed in Zurich, Switzerland, although it could not confirm he was on board.
President Trump, who awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Woods in 2019 and last week called him a “very close friend”, told the New York Post on Wednesday that he had spoken with Woods following his arrest.
In bodycam footage from the crash scene, Woods is heard telling officers he was on the phone “with the President”, although he didn’t specify that it was Trump.
– Agence France-Presse
