Tiger Woods arrested on DUI charges after Florida car crash

27 March 2026 , 21:57

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Tiger Woods has been arrested and charged with "driving under the influence" after crashing his Land Rover near his Florida home.

Woods is believed to have been attempting to overtake a truck at "high speed" when he clipped the vehicle, causing it to "rollover".

Police say the golf legend was arrested and taken to a local jail where he refused to provide a urine test.

The crash occurred just after 2pm in Jupiter Island, close to where the golf legend lives.

Giving a news conference on Friday evening, Martin County sheriff John Budensiek said: "It did appear that the driver of the Land Rover might be impaired."

Budensiek confirmed Tiger Woods showed signs of "impairment" and has been arrested and charged with a DUI offense.

The officer told reporters that the driver of the pickup truck, who has not been identified, was driving northbound on the road and was slowly pulling into a driveway.

He then looked in his mirror and saw a dark-colored Land Rover trying to overtake at speed in the 30mph zone.

Woods refused to give a urine sample when asked, but Mr. Budensiek said the golfer was keen "not to incriminate himself, he was careful".

The sheriff said: "Shortly before 2pm, the pressure cleaner truck pulling a trailer, was northbound on South Beach Road and was turning into a driveway.

"It was slowing down, starting to turn into a driveway, and the driver of that vehicle looked in his mirror and saw a dark-colored Land Rover overtaking him at high speed.

"He saw it coming so he tried to edge off to the side of the road, but this is a small two-lane road and there was no shoulder for, for this pressure cleaner gentleman to get off this side of the road.

"As he was trying to move to the side of the road, the Land Rover overtook him at the last minute and swerved to avoid a collision, but clipped the back end of the trailer of the pressure cleaner apparatus, listed to the side, and then rolled onto the driver’s door north past the truck that had just avoided the crash.

"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."

Investigators concluded that Woods "did exemplify signs of impairment," and undertook several tests on him.

Woods told officers of the past injuries and surgeries he had sustained, but was arrested following roadside tests.

The sheriff added: "We really weren’t suspicious of alcohol being involved in this case, and that proved to be true at the jail.

"Mr. Woods did a breathalyzer 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."

Donald Trump spoke to reporters on Friday where he said Woods had "some difficulty" after the crash.

He said: “There was an accident, and that’s all I know. Very close friend of mine.

"He’s an amazing person. Amazing man. But, some difficulty. I don’t want to talk about it.”

In 2021, Woods was involved in a serious car crash in Rancho Palos Verdes, near Los Angeles, which left him needing leg surgery and threatened to end his career.

On that occasion, the vehicle rolled several times and left Woods trapped in the car with open fractures to his lower limbs.

He had a rod placed in a tibia, and had screws and pins inserted in his foot and ankle during the emergency surgery.

Earlier this week, the 15-time major champion insisted he wants to play in next month’s Masters. The comments came after he admitted to getting his "a*** kicked" on his return to action in the TGL Finals.

Woods had back surgery last October, having been sidelined since The Open in the summer of 2024, but made his return as his Jupiter Links team were beaten in the final of the golf league co-founded by Woods and Rory McIlroy.