Tiger Woods was released on bail late Friday after his Land Rover clipped a truck, rolled onto its side and he was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence, Martin County, Florida, officials said.
Sheriff John Budensiek said Woods was driving at what investigators described as “high speeds” on a residential road near his Jupiter Island home when the vehicle swerved to avoid a collision while passing a pressure-cleaner truck. The Land Rover struck the rear of the truck’s trailer and tipped onto its driver’s side. The crash happened just before 2pm local time; Woods crawled out and was not seriously injured.
According to the sheriff, officers observed signs of impairment and described Woods as lethargic. He agreed to a breathalyser test, which detected no alcohol, but refused a urine test and was subsequently arrested. Budensiek said investigators suspect some form of medication or drug may have been involved and noted that because Woods declined the urine test, authorities “will never get definitive results” on what he may have been impaired by.
Woods was booked at the Martin County jail in Stuart around 3pm and released on the minimum eight-hour bail allowed under state law. He was held separately from other inmates, the sheriff said, and was cooperative during the encounter but “he’s not trying to incriminate himself,” Budensiek added. Authorities could not determine Woods’s exact speed; the posted limit on the two-lane road is 48 km/h (30 mph).
This is the second time Woods has faced a DUI-related arrest not involving alcohol. In 2017 he was found asleep behind the wheel with the engine running and damage to the driver’s side; he later said he had accidentally taken a problematic combination of prescription pain medications and pleaded guilty to reckless driving.
The Florida rollover is the fourth crash involving Woods in recent years. In February 2021 his SUV left a coastal road in Los Angeles at high speed, causing severe leg and ankle injuries that required lengthy rehabilitation; doctors at the time said amputation had been considered. Woods has also endured multiple knee and back operations during his career.
A decorated champion — he returned from multiple back surgeries to win the 2019 Masters and is tied with Sam Snead on 82 PGA Tour victories — Woods has struggled to regain his peak form since the 2021 crash. He has played 11 tournaments since, without finishing closer than 16 shots to the winner, and has completed all four rounds only four times.
The arrest came as Woods was weighing whether to play in this year’s Masters, which begins on April 9. He had been due in Augusta on April 5 to unveil a course project with Masters chairman Fred Ridley and was nearing a “soft deadline” to decide whether to accept the U.S. Ryder Cup captaincy for the 2027 matches in Ireland.
Woods has been recovering from his seventh back surgery in September. His last official start was the 2024 British Open; he ruptured his Achilles tendon in March 2025, which sidelined him before that back surgery. He did appear this week in the indoor TGL league.
Asked last month at the Genesis Invitational about returning to competition, Woods said: “I’m trying. Put it that way,” noting the challenges of a disc replacement after previously having a fused back.