This handout mugshot released on March 27, 2026 provided by the Martin County Sheriff's Office shows the mugshot of US golfer Tiger Woods, 50, who was arrested in Jupiter Island, Florida on March 27, 2026. Photo / Florida Department of Corrections / AFP
Tiger Woods has been charged with driving under the influence after rolling his car in a crash in Jupiter, Florida.
The 50-year-old was apparently unhurt in the collision with another vehicle at 2pm near his home in Jupiter, but was held in county jail on what was his second DUI charge.
Martin County Sheriff John Budensiek said during a news conference that Woods complied with a breathalyser but refused a urine test. Woods faces misdemeanour charges and was held in the Martin County Jail for eight hours before being released on bail.
Woods, the 15-time major champion, had been hoping to play in next month’s Masters, as he began an attempted return to competitive golf following back surgery in October.
Late on Friday night, police in Martin County released his mugshot.
The arrest comes five years after he was involved in a severe crash in California in 2021, where he suffered multiple fractures. He was also arrested in Palm Beach County in 2017 on suspicion of driving under the influence. He later pleaded guilty to reckless driving.
The news was confirmed in a press conference by Budensiek.
“Just before 2pm today, the Jupiter Island Police Department received a call of a rollover crash about two-and-a-half miles from where we are,” he said. “The Jupiter Island Police Department responded out there and found a pickup truck pulling a pressure cleaner trailer and a Land Rover, which was rolled over on the driver’s door.
“The investigation started, and initially, right off the top, it did appear that the driver of the Land Rover might be impaired.”
Budensiek described how the incident had happened when the Land Rover that Woods was driving attempted to overtake the pickup truck as it tried to turn into a driveway, clipping the back of the other vehicle and rolling over.
He said Woods had been driving at “high speed” and his vehicle tipped on to its side then “slid for a pretty decent space before he came to a stop”. The speed limit on the road was 30m/h.
He added: “The individual driving that Land Rover was able to crawl out the passenger door of the car and was identified to be Mr Tiger Woods. Our DUI investigators came to the scene here, and Mr Woods did exemplify signs of impairment. They did several tests on him, of course, he did explain the injuries and the surgeries that he had. We did take that into account, but they did do some in-depth roadside tests, and when it was determined, 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, and so he’s been charged with DUI, with property damage and refusal to submit to a lawful test in the crash.
“No one was injured. Mr Woods did not seem to be injured at all, and the other gentlemen were not injured.”
Martin County Sheriff’s Office confirmed that Woods had been released in the early hours of Saturday morning and he was photographed being driven away from the jail.
The incident attracted the attention of Donald Trump who said “I feel so badly, his, uh... he’s got some difficulty” after landing in Miami on Friday evening.
The US president added: “There was an accident, and that’s all I know. Very close friend of mine. An amazing person, amazing man ... but some difficulty.”
Woods is currently dating Vanessa Trump, Trump’s former daughter-in-law. Vanessa was previously married to Trump’s oldest son, Don Jr.
For Woods’s many admirers this was sadly anything but unfamiliar. This is his third car crash. In 2009, the then world No 1 smashed into a fire hydrant and a tree outside his Florida home. He was unhurt in the incident but it was born out of a dispute with his former wife and triggered a scandal focusing on multiple affairs.
The father-of-two’s reputation was almost destroyed. A few years later Woods was found asleep with his head slumped on the steering wheel by Florida police and after testing positive for prescription drugs booked into an addiction clinic.
In 2019, Woods won the Masters – his first major title since 2008 – and after several back surgeries was credited with gaining sporting redemption. However, in 2021 he was involved in another car accident – this time in the morning – in which he was lucky not to lose his right leg.
There were no other vehicles involved after he sped across a central reservation in Los Angeles and ended in a ravine. He was cut out of the overturned SUV and was soon under the knife again as the medics sought to save his devastated limb.
Woods did not return to competition until the following year’s Masters, although it was clear that he would never be the same again. He has undergone at least three operations in the meantime, most recently a disc replacement in his spine last year.
He has not played competitively since the 2024 Masters because of his continuing injuries, but did play in the final of TGL – a simulator league of which he is a co-owner – on Tuesday and afterwards he expressed his desire to tee it up at the Masters in two weeks’ time. As the game of golf was yet again plunged into anxiety over its icon, that was the least of the worries.
Woods is an 82-time winner on the PGA Tour, tied with Sam Snead for the most in history. He last won a major at the 2019 Masters, following an 11-year wait between his 14th and 15th major.
After his defeat in Tuesday’s TGL finals to a team featuring Justin Rose and Tommy Fleetwood, Woods said that he still hoped to be at Augusta.
“We got our a-- kicked at the end, but I felt fine physically,” Woods said. “This body doesn’t recover like it did when I was 24, 25. It doesn’t mean I’m not trying; I’ve been trying for a while.
“I’ve had a couple of bad injuries last year that I’ve had to fight through and it has taken some time. I keep trying – I’ll be there anyway, but I want to play [at Augusta].”
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