Golfing great Tiger Woods, 41, was arrested for driving under the influence in Jupiter, Florida and taken into custody early in the morning on Memorial Day. Tiger was recovering from his fourth back surgery a month earlier and it’s unclear whether he was under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol. Judging from his booking photo, above, alcohol was likely involved. He was arrested around 3am and released at about 11am.
Legendary golfer Tiger Woods was arrested for Driving Under the Influence in Florida on Memorial Day, police said.
Woods, a Jupiter resident, was taken into custody at 3 a.m. Monday, according to WPTV. The golfer was booked into a county jail under his birth name Eldrick Woods, according to the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office’s website.
Woods, 41, was charged with DUI and released on his own recognizance about 10:50 a.m. It’s unclear if Woods was tested for drugs or alcohol.
The golfer has been living on Jupiter Island since 2006 after buying a $40 million estate there, The New York Times reported.
Woods has won 14 major tournaments and ranks second with his 79 career victories on the PGA Tour.
The report goes on to state that Tiger hasn’t played in a tournament in four months due to his back injury and that his comeback hasn’t gone well at all. He seemed to be on the road to physical recovery and had posted on his website after the surgery that he hadn’t “felt this good in years.” They also remind us that it’s been almost eight years since he was busted cheating on his wife with “dozens” of women (their wording and it’s accurate), in an ongoing scandal that started breaking around Thanksgiving, 2009. It doesn’t seem that long ago and was one of the craziest and most involved scandals we’ve covered here, with a cast of characters and a revolving door of mistresses. I guess it’s not surprising to hear that Tiger is still struggling with addiction, that he’s not sober, and that he’s still trying to drive himself around drunk despite the availability of cabs and the fact that he could easily hire a full time driver/minder. It’s stupid, it’s sad, and it speaks to how pervasive addiction and alcoholism are. He’s lucky he didn’t kill someone or himself and it’s likely not the first time he’s driven wasted.
TMZ has the details of Tiger’s arrest, including that he was driving erratically all over the road and that he was arrogant to cops when he was pulled over and smelled of alcohol. He reportedly refused a breathalyzer. They also include the amusing anecdote that his girlfriend, a woman named Kristin Smith, was at Neiman Marcus in Dallas when she heard of Tiger’s arrest and that she started crying but was able to console herself with $5,000 worth of merchandise afterwards. Tiger has issued a statement blaming his issues on prescription medication from his back surgery. He denies that he was drinking.
“I understand the severity of what I did and I take full responsibility for my actions. I want the public to know that alcohol was not involved. What happened was an unexpected reaction to prescribed medications. I didn’t realize the mix of medications affected me so strongly.
“I would like to apologize with all my heart to my family, friends, and the fans. I expect more from myself, too. I will do everything in my power to ensure this never happens again.
I fully cooperated with law enforcement, and I would like to personally thank the representatives of the Jupiter Police Dept. and the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office for their professionalism.”
He’s got good people working for him who helped him craft this message, but he still didn’t have the foresight to hire someone to drive him home.
Photos credit: Palm Beach County sheriff, WENN
If he only had the money to pay for an Uber…
How the mighty have fallen. He looks horrible.
Alcohol bloat is no joke. A shame too, he used to have such an electric smile (however real or fake it was).
dude is NOT aging well. partially because of the alcohol, I’m sure, and partly because he knows that he’s blown his entire legacy on the “driving while using Ambien so my wife had to break the car window with a golf club to rescue me” bit. dude had EVERYTHING, and he blew it because he couldn’t keep little Tiger in his pants.
He was NOT drinking at all, actually: that has already been verified and reported. He was on painkillers, Vicodin being listed as one of them. It’s important to get the accurate, true story in cases like these, before writing them up, since the facts do come out fairly quickly.
Phewf!! He was just driving erratically while high on prescription drugs!!! Silly me, I was only concerned that he was drunk!!
He’s still bloated. And should not have been driving.
alcohol does long term damage, Ksenia. regardless of whether or not he was drinking THIS TIME, he has issues with it. the bloat is telling.
to add, as others have pointed out, it doesn’t really matter WHAT he was on, whether it was good ol’ hillbilly heroin or plain ol’ alcohol. he shouldn’t have been driving, period.
Way to jump all over someone who was pointing out the facts here, Doofus. He wasn’t drinking at all but on painkillers. Regardless of the fact he shouldn’t have been driving, which I am sure everyone agrees, you’re making assumptions about Tiger Woods. Painkillers can also cause said bloat. If he’s drinking with them, it causes you to bloat even more.
It’s also possible he combined the painkillers with sleep medication that led to his being arrested for a DUI. In any event, they found him asleep in his car, with the engine running and the lights on. He did pull over to the side of the road, most likely realized he was too screwed up to drive and then passed out.
well, I’d hardly call that “jumping all over someone”, and I’m not the only person who pointed that out. Please make sure you scold everybody equally.
and please note, no where in any of my posts did I say that the DUI was due to alcohol. I simply said he wasn’t aging well, likely due to alcohol use/abuse, and due to the fact that he KNOWS how hard he’s fallen.
and yes, he does have a (documented) problem with alcohol. whether or not he was drinking this time is kind of irrelevant. all I pointed out was the bloat, which I attributed to (likely) alcohol abuse.
maybe just read people’s posts more carefully and don’t jump all over someone for something they didn’t say. Ta.
He’s admitted issues with prescription drugs and alcohol. He’s been caught driving while intoxicated before.
Idc what the specifics were because end of the day he got behind the wheel after knowingly ingesting a substance, of his own free will, he understood would slow his reaction time and disregard the safety of others.
I’m not going to bicker over the chemical composition. Maybe worse it was pills in a way.
The poor guy had four knee surgeries after 2008 and four back surgeries. He is obviously been dealing with a lot pain, as most athletes do. Have some compassion for him. Just because he was very successful and is very rich, does not mean he is immune to pain. So what if he’s not as great a player as he once was?
@ Anon. I don’t understand why he doesn’t just retire. I don’t think he will reach his previous level of greatness again but like you said, so what?. He accomplished great things as a golfer. Now it’s time to wave goodbye.
What a twerp, he could have killed other people.
He’s not aging well.
But that hairline! Just shave it all off!
I saw this mug shot on BBC World News. BBC! Look drunk driving is wrong but there is something about Tigers coverage that is very off. I dont mean here, on gossip sites. We are busy bodies and nobody is safe here. I’m talking about “serious news” and “mainstream entertainment” who were practically jizzing with the unsurprising news that a professional athlete who spends three quarters of his year on the road…..gasp…cheats on his wife with random groupies. That story was so huge, I remember serious editorial pieces on why I as a black woman should be riding with all the hypocritical white men who wanted him metaphorically lynched. All because a superstar athlete cheated? And now this mug shot plastered all over the news like “oh you thought he was different from all em other black guys?” Something tells me the news will not be leading with Wayne Bradys mug shot for a DRUNK DRIVING arrest. I’m mad!
I agree with you. A lot of the extensive coverage on his cheating, now his DUI, are because he’s black.
Actually, I believe it’s likely the fact that this guy had THE most well crafted and locked-down persona of virtually any pro athlete at the time. His skin color didn’t stop him from being a golfing phenom and I don’t think that’s the interest in his fall from grace.
I’m a fan of TIger Woods …. I’ve been pulling hard for a return for this guy. I’m not sure though I buy the lynching comment. He was a media darling in a lot of ways before the cheating scandal. I’m not saying he didn’t exhibit a pricklish attitude toward the press because he dang sure did. But they seemed to love him anyway because his talent at the time was jaw dropping. They gave him coverage commensurate with that and it led to endorsements that made him wealthy beyond dreams. Do they cover his downfall relentlessly? Yes. Is it because he’s black tho and a metaphorical lunching ? Not in my assessment, It is the pendulum swinging equally as hard in the other direction. He received wonderful coverage — huge coverage — at the height of his career and race wasn’t why. His downfall is equally big news because of where he once was. It’s the depth of the free fall that’s causing this in my opinion and not his skin color,
Valid point. Absolutely.
Oh please, he was the biggest, most bankable athlete in the world who had the squeakiest of squeaky clean images – there weren’t even whispers of his BS because his team had crafted such a tight, on lock image/story line since he was 3 years old. Tiger Woods is a tool who broke his vows and chose to drive under the influence when he got caught. He made his bed, he can lay in it.
Oh there were rumors, you just had to live in the Orlando/Windermere area to hear them. His affair with the Perkins waitress was the worst kept secret in town and everyone knew his public image was a complete fabrication.
Ewww Tiger. What happened to *gestures helplessly* EVERYTHING?
You made me smile. Funny comment!
He’s had numerous surgeries, obviously is dealing with severe pain, is dealing with not being as successful as he was, has lost his wife. Let him be…
His image never truly recovered from that thanksgiving day. It was on the mend when he was with Vonn, but i am not sure how they are going to successfully spin this. I hope he gets the help he needs.
About 10-12 years ago my husband was working on Tiger Woods custom made yacht and Elin came in to look at the boat. My husband had no idea who she was. She was dressed casually and walked around asking questions to the workers even having conversations with them. An hour after she left a ton of food arrived for all the workers that she ordered and paid for. My husband found out later from his boss that it was Tiger Woods wife and couldn’t believe how nice and down to earth she was. When the cheating scandal happened I couldn’t believe that he would cheat on her and in such a disgusting way. I think she was truly heartbroken. I hope the best for her.
This.
He has never recovered from his break-up with her. He knows exactly what he had and how his life helped contribute to his success. His loss and a DUI Is inexcusable
It seems like Elin is doing well from stuff that has been in the media occasionally. I am impressed she bothered to finish her college degree after it all happened, that shows a certain grit. Hopefully their kids will emulate her more than their father….
He is an adult who is responsible for his own behaviour. It’s sad, however, that his father dictated and dominated the entirety of his life from the time he was a toddler. His life was never going to be normal. Some personalities can survive such a crazily childhood/adolescence, (Beyonce) but others are ruined by it. It’s tragic. But Tiger, get your shiz together.
When I saw that picture yesterday, I didn’t even realize who it was. He was never actually looking, but he looks awful. Definitely not aging well!
Like @chained said…. Shave it off!!!!
He was very good lucking when he was younger!
It’s saddening to see him in decline, over years. ESPN did a series of pieces about what was/is going on with him, that put his compulsive cheating in context. I won’t judge, but hope he gets it together, for his kids’ sake as well as his own. And use Uber.
That is so twisted that people will go to painful lenghts to deny they have an alcohol problem or an addiction problem. They are better off blaming the medicine. Like beeing wreckless with your medicine and driving under the influence of medicine is so much better than irresponsible drunk driving. Like Brad just had to make it clear that he was not in rehab. A nice message to people who struggle with addiction and their families. Just adding to the shame of having an addiction problem that in fact so many families across the globe have to deal with in private because there is so much shame attached to it
Didn’t he just get back surgery? How is he even comfortable driving yet?
His fall from grace is insane. I can’t believe it’s been 8 years already. I still remember first seeing his cheating scandal reported.
Also tiger honey, this is NOT a good look. We need to chat about the hairline and driving under the influence. Both are huge NOs
Why why why ? He could and should have a full time driver. Or Uber. No excuses for this
Why would he need someome to drive him home if “alcohol was not involved”? Do that take blood if a person refuses a breathalyzer to test for alcohol or drugs?
A new report just came out that he blew 0.00 with no traces of alcohol. So he still has an ambien problem I guess? Still, get yourself a driver dude.
I read on another site that the police were going to call a tow service for his car but then cancelled it because a member of his ‘team’ was being sent to pick it up. Why wasn’t a member of his so-called team sent to drive him where he wanted to go? Stupidity is like rain; it doesn’t matter who it falls on. I never much cared for the guy by seeing him at golf tournaments and the smug persona he portrayed, but I was in awe of his talent. I am gonna sit back and watch the meme’s roll in…
You’re not supposed to drive while on certain medications. Pretty irresponsible
So did TMZ lie ?
The police report says he was asleep with his seatbelt on.He took the breathlyzer and blew a 0.00
So how can he be driving erratically AND asleep on the side of the road ?
MTE.
He has not aged well… Shocked to see he’s only 41. I wonder why more rich men don’t get hair plugs.
So once your bank balance hits a certain level, men should get hair plugs and women should get botox and fillers? Celeb mugshots are what ‘civilian’ passport/driving licence photos are like – there is no good side.
http://www.golfchannel.com/news/golf-central-blog/numbers-look-back-woods-injuries/
Just look at his injuries. Just because golf doesn’t look as physical as football, doesn’t mean it doesn’t damage the body.
@NoName—Thank you for defending me against the rather bizarre responses to my pointing out that he was NOT drunk at the time of his arrest! @ doofus and the others who saw fit to be sarcastic/condescending in response to my post, NOWHERE did I state or imply that his having been on painkillers rather than alcohol was somehow a lesser danger to him or to other drivers! Of *course* it is equally dangerous, and nowhere did I dispute that. Nor did I say that he is NOT alcoholic–I simply stated a FACT, that he was reportedly not drinking at the time of his arrest. No reason whatsoever to reprimand or “correct” me for writing something unbiased and factual–or for your sardonic and patronizing tones.