Plea comes hours after sheriff’s report mentioned the golfer confirmed indicators of impairment on the scene of final week’s crash.
Printed On 31 Mar 2026
Golfer Tiger Woods pleaded not responsible in his driving below the affect case in Florida on Tuesday, hours after a sheriff’s report mentioned he had ache capsules and confirmed indicators of impairment on the scene of the crash final week.
The net courtroom docket for Martin County, Florida, confirmed that Woods entered a written plea of not responsible and deliberate to waive his look throughout an arraignment listening to subsequent month.
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Woods’s eyes have been bloodshot and glassy, his pupils have been dilated, and he had opioid capsules in his pocket when interviewed on the scene of the crash, in accordance with the arrest report launched by the Martin County Sheriff’s Workplace.
The golfer’s actions have been sluggish and torpid, and he was sweating as he talked to deputies and instructed them he had taken prescription remedy earlier within the morning, in accordance with the report. Woods instructed deputies he had been taking a look at his cellphone and twiddling with the radio earlier than he clipped a truck in entrance of him, the report mentioned.
Deputies discovered two white capsules, which have been recognized because the opioid hydrocodone, used to deal with ache, in his pocket, the report mentioned.
When requested by a deputy if he took any prescription medicines, Woods mentioned, “I take a couple of.”
Woods’s agent at Excel Sports activities, Mark Steinberg, has not responded to a number of messages looking for remark.
The golfer was travelling at excessive speeds on a beachside, residential highway on Jupiter Island when his Land Rover clipped the truck and rolled onto its facet, in accordance with the sheriff’s workplace, which famous that Woods had proven indicators of impairment.
The truck had $5,000 in injury, in accordance with the report.
The truck driver and one other particular person helped Woods out of his automobile, with the golfer needing to climb out from the passenger facet. Neither Woods nor the truck driver was injured.
Throughout a subject sobriety take a look at, deputies observed Woods limping and that he had a compression sock over his proper knee. The golfer defined he had undergone seven again surgical procedures and greater than 20 leg operations, and that his ankle seizes up whereas strolling. Woods, who was hiccupping throughout the questioning, repeatedly moved his head throughout one of many sobriety checks, and deputies needed to instruct him a number of occasions to maintain his head straight, the report mentioned.
“Based mostly on my observations of Woods, how he carried out the workouts and primarily based on my coaching, information, and expertise, I believed that Woods’ regular colleges have been impaired, and he was unable to soundly function the motorcar,” the deputy wrote after the checks.
Woods, 50, is essentially the most influential determine in golf and has change into as recognisable as any athlete on the planet. The primary particular person of Black heritage to win the Masters in 1997, he has captivated golf followers with data probably by no means to be damaged.
However his accidents saved him from engaging in extra, together with these suffered in a 2021 automotive crash that broken his proper leg so badly he mentioned docs thought of amputation.
At this newest crash, Woods agreed to a breathalyser take a look at, which confirmed no indicators of alcohol, however he refused a urine take a look at, authorities mentioned. He was arrested and launched on bail eight hours later.
Nobody from Woods’s camp or the PGA Tour – he’s on the board and is the chairman of the committee reshaping the competitors mannequin – has commented since his arrest.
Woods, who has been concerned in lots of crashes over time, is charged with driving below the affect, with property injury and refusal to undergo a lawful take a look at. He’s scheduled for arraignment on April 23. On-line courtroom data don’t checklist a lawyer for him.
Beneath a change to Florida regulation final 12 months, refusing a regulation enforcement officer’s request to take a breath, blood or urine take a look at has change into a misdemeanour, even for a primary offence.
