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Tiger’s driving problems leading up to the Masters

By CODY JACKSON and DOUG FERGUSON 8 min read

JUPITER ISLAND, Fla. (AP) -- Tiger Woods was arrested Friday on suspicion of driving under the influence after his Land Rover traveling at "high speed" on a residential road clipped a truck and rolled onto its side.

Martin County Sheriff John Budensiek said Woods was able to crawl out of passenger side and was not injured.

"He did exemplify signs of an impairment," Budensiek said, adding that investigators believe he had taken "some type of medication or drug." He said Woods agreed to a Breathalyzer test that showed no signs of alcohol, but refused a urine test and was arrested.

Under Florida law, he would have to spend eight hours in jail before he could post bail.

Budensiek said the sheriff's office will follow the law regardless of who has been accused of a crime. He said Woods was being held in jail but separate from others.

"He's not going to be with other inmates that could hurt him or try to capitalize on what he did," he said. "He'll pay the price, but he's not going to pay the price by getting punished in jail."

It was the second time Woods has been arrested for a DUI not as a result of the influence of alcohol. He said he took a bad mix of painkillers when authorities found him in 2017 asleep behind the wheel of his car, the engine still running and its driver's side damaged. Woods pleaded guilty then to reckless driving.

President Donald Trump, whose former daughter-in-law is dating Tiger Woods, was asked about the golfer when he landed in Miami on Friday afternoon for an investment summit.

"I feel so badly. He's got some difficulty," Trump said. "Very close friend of mine. He's an amazing person. Amazing man. But, some difficulty."

The crash occurred just before 2 p.m. not far from where Woods lives on Jupiter Island.

Budensiek said Woods attempted to pass a pressure cleaner truck while driving on a two-lane road with a 30 mph speed limit. He said authorities could not determine how fast Woods was going.

The Land Rover swerved to avoid a collision as he was passing the truck but clipped the back end of the truck's trailer, Budensiek said. Woods' car then rolled onto its driver's side.

The sheriff said Woods was "cooperative, but he's not trying to incriminate himself." He said Woods has the right to refuse the urine test and that authorities "will never get definitive results with what he was impaired on."

Woods' manager at Excel Sports did not immediately respond to a text message seeking comment.

This was the fourth time Woods has been involved in a car crash, most recently in February 2021 when his SUV ran off a coastal road in Los Angeles at a high rate of speed, leading to multiple leg and ankle injuries. Woods said later doctors considered amputation. He also previously sustained multiple injuries to his left knee and his back during his golf career.

Woods returned from multiple back surgeries to win the 2019 Masters for his 15th major. His 82 titles on the PGA Tour is tied for the career record with Sam Snead. Since that LA crash, he has played 11 tournaments without being closer than 16 shots to the winner the four times he was able to finish 72 holes.

Friday's arrest comes as Woods was trying to decide if he was fit enough to play the Masters, which starts April 9. He also was to be in Augusta, Georgia, on April 5 to unveil a golf course project with Masters chairman Fred Ridley.

Woods also was days away from what was described as a "soft deadline" to decide whether to be the U.S. Ryder Cup captain for the 2027 matches in Ireland.

Woods, 50, had been working his way back to golf from a seventh back surgery in September.

His last official tournament was the British Open in 2024. Woods ruptured his Achilles tendon in March 2025 and that kept him off the course all season even before the back surgery. He managed to play in his indoor TGL golf league on Tuesday night.

He has remained deeply involved in PGA Tour affairs as chair of the Future Competition Committee that is restructuring the model of the tour.

Revealing look

HOUSTON (AP) -- Gary Woodland felt a weight lifted from speaking publicly about his mental health struggles, and he looked freer than ever Friday with a 7-under 63 in the Houston Open to build a three-shot lead going into the weekend at Memorial Park.

Woodland sounded more pleased with not getting down about one bad swing than his finish of three straight birdies that allowed him to build some separation.

He was at 13-under 127, three ahead of Nicolai Hjogaard (62) and Jackson Suber (63) on a comfortable day of good scoring for most everyone.

Brooks Koepka was an exception. Coming off a 75 marred by three double bogeys in the first round, Koepka had a triple bogey on the par-3 second hole, his 11th of the day. He shot 69 to miss the cut for the second time since his return from LIV Golf.

Woodland wasn't dialed in off the tee, hitting only five fairways, but Memorial Park has enough room to let it fly and he was rarely out of position. He finished off his round with a wedge to 3 feet on the par-5 16th, a 15-foot birdie on the 17th and a 12-foot birdie on the 18th.

But what stuck with him was a tee shot he yanked into the water left of the 13th fairway, leading to a penalty drop and ultimately having to make a 4-foot putt to escape with bogey.

"I was proud of myself because what Randy Smith, my coach, calls an 'oops.' I had a bad swing there on 13, and I've hit it so well the last couple days, I didn't let that bother me," Woodland said. "I told myself to forget about it and move on, and I was able to do that. That was a big change for me to let that go and keep doing what I've been doing the last couple days."

The 2019 U.S. Open champion has been playing a well-rounded game, in control of his swing and confident on the greens after he realized his alignment was off and changed his putter to help.

Mostly, he feels big support and greater comfort following his decision to publicly talk about his battle with post-traumatic stress disorder. Woodland is recovering from September 2023 brain surgery to remove a lesion on a part of the brain that causes moments of unfounded fear.

He felt "1,000 pounds lighter" after that Golf Channel interview. And he's feeling it from the gallery in Houston as he goes after a win would get him in the Masters.

"There's no doubt, and I feed off that," Woodland said. "This as much as any week, I feel like I've had a lot of support. Kind of feel like I'm playing at home. The fans have been amazing. I kind of need that energy to help me through the day, that definitely helps. That's something hopefully I can ride on this weekend as well."

Hojgaard also has the Masters on his mind. He is No. 47 in the world ranking, and the top 50 after this week secure invitations to Augusta National in two weeks. Hojgaard removed a lot of doubt with his round of 62. He did Woodland one better, making birdies on his last four holes.

"It's so easy to say it's not on my mind, good golf will take care of it," Hojgaard said of the Masters. "It's on my mind 100 percent. We all want to be there. But when I'm playing golf out there, I didn't think about it today. I feel like my game is good enough to qualify for it, but there's two more days here in Houston and I like where my game is at."

Defending champion Min Woo Lee and Jason Day each shot 63 and were four shots behind, with Michael Thorbjornsen (64) another shot back. Thorbjornsen is at No. 56 in the world -- he lost a big opportunity to move up with a rough Sunday at The Players Championship -- but he is in good shape going into the weekend in Houston.

Pierceson Coody's chances of the Masters took a big hit. The grandson of 1971 Masters champion Charles Coody is at No. 51 in the world. But he was forced to withdraw with a back injury Friday morning. He is projected to go to No. 50, but would need no one to pass him.

Starting at /week.