The five-time Masters winner was arrested on charges of driving under the influence with property damage and refusal to submit to a blood alcohol level (BAL) test after law enforcement said his vehicle collided with another vehicle Friday afternoon while he was driving impaired, News.Az reports, citing Fox news.
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According to an arrest affidavit, deputies with the Martin County Sheriff’s Office reported observing several signs of impairment at the scene, noting that the golf legend was “sweating profusely” and that his movements appeared “lethargic and slow.”
During the investigation, Woods explained to deputies that he was distracted prior to the crash.
“Woods stated he was looking down at his cell phone and changing the radio station and did not notice the vehicle in front of him slowing down,” deputies noted in the affidavit.
Law enforcement proceeded to perform field sobriety tests because of their suspicions. Woods was instructed to remove his eyeglasses, and the deputy conducting the tests stated that his eyes appeared to be “bloodshot and glassy” and “extremely dilated.”
Woods was placed under arrest, and during a search, law enforcement found “two white pills inside Woods’ left side pant pocket.” According to the arrest affidavit, the pills were later identified as hydrocodone, a prescription opioid for pain relief.
Woods previously told law enforcement prior to the field sobriety tests that he underwent seven back surgeries and “over 20 operations on his leg.” He told law enforcement that “I take a few” prescription medications.
At the jail, Woods submitted to a breathalyzer, where he provided 0.00 results on both samples. He declined to submit to a urine test, resulting in another charge.
Friday’s arrest marked Woods’ second DUI arrest within the last decade. In 2017, he was taken into custody, also in Jupiter Island, after taking prescription drugs and being asleep behind the wheel of a running car at 3 a.m.
In 2021, he got into a wreck that resulted in serious leg injuries that kept him off the golf course for the entire year.
