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Tiger Woods said Tuesday he will step away from golf to seek treatment, days after his arrest on suspicion of driving under the influence following a rollover crash in Florida where deputies found two hydrocodone pills in his pocket and observed multiple signs of impairment.
"This is necessary in order for me to prioritize my well-being and work toward lasting recovery," the 50-year-old wrote in a post on X. He did not specify the nature of the treatment or give a timeline for his absence from the sport.
The announcement came on the same day a Martin County Sheriff's Office affidavit revealed new details about the crash and Woods' condition at the scene, and hours after court records showed he had entered a written plea of not guilty to misdemeanor charges of driving under the influence with property damage and refusal to submit to a lawful test. His arraignment is scheduled for April 23. Attorney Douglas Duncan filed a waiver of arraignment and a demand for a jury trial, meaning Woods does not have to appear in court for the initial hearing.
The crash occurred around 2 p.m. on March 27 on South Beach Road in Jupiter Island, roughly five minutes from Woods' home. Deputies said he was driving a black Land Rover northbound behind a white Ford F-150 towing a trailer. Woods told deputies he looked down at his cell phone and did not realize the truck ahead had slowed to turn into a driveway. He crossed double solid lines into oncoming traffic to pass, struck the rear of the trailer and lost control. His SUV flipped onto the driver's side and was pinned to the ground. The other driver helped Woods exit through the passenger side.
When deputies arrived, they described Woods as having bloodshot and glassy eyes, extremely dilated pupils and sweating profusely, despite sitting in an air-conditioned vehicle. His movements were lethargic and slow. He had hiccups throughout the investigation. During a search, deputies found two white pills in his left pants pocket marked with the imprint "M365" and later identified as hydrocodone, a prescription opioid used to treat severe pain. Woods told deputies he had taken "a few" prescription medications earlier that day and disclosed he had undergone seven back surgeries and more than 20 operations on his leg.
At the Martin County Jail, he submitted to two breathalyzer tests that both registered 0.000, showing no measurable alcohol in his system. Deputies then requested a urine test to determine whether drugs were present. Woods refused after being read Florida's implied consent warning. That refusal became a separate criminal charge under Florida's Trenton's Law, strengthened in October 2025, which makes refusal to submit to a lawful DUI test a second-degree misdemeanor carrying an automatic one-year licence suspension and up to 60 days in jail. He was arrested and released on bail eight hours after the crash.
This is not the first time Woods has faced a DUI charge. In May 2017, deputies found him asleep in his car in Jupiter with five substances in his system, including hydrocodone. He later pleaded guilty to reckless driving in that case and entered a clinic a month later for treatment of prescription pain medication issues and a sleep disorder. His current attorney, Douglas Duncan, also represented him in 2017.
Woods has had an extraordinary medical history. The 15-time major champion who won 82 PGA Tour events suffered a serious rollover crash in February 2021 that shattered his right leg and ankle, leading to fears that the leg might be amputated. He returned to competitive golf after that accident, though his playing schedule has been severely limited since.
He was also playing in the TGL technology golf format as recently as March 24, just three days before the crash. No one from Woods' management or the PGA Tour, where he serves on the board and chairs the committee overseeing the tour's competition model, has commented publicly since his arrest.
