Tiger Woods will be staying out of the driver’s seat for quite some time.
The 15-time major champion had his driver’s license suspended for five years Wednesday after reaching a plea agreement stemming from his March arrest following a rollover crash near his Jupiter Island, Florida, home.
Woods, 50, appeared in Martin County Circuit Court and entered a no-contest plea to reduced charges. Prosecutors amended his original DUI charge to willful and wanton reckless driving, while a separate charge related to his refusal to submit to testing was reduced to a careless-driving citation.
The agreement allows Woods to avoid jail time but comes with a five-year driver’s license suspension and $1,500 in fines. The two license suspensions imposed as part of the case will run concurrently.
Judge Darren Steele made it very clear to Woods that the five-year ban isn’t merely a suggestion.
“I want you to understand that five years of driving is for the safety of the public,” Steele told Woods. “There are no exceptions. If you were to drive for any reason at all, you would go immediately back to jail.”
The case dates back to March 27, when Woods was driving a Range Rover on Jupiter Island and attempted to pass a truck pulling a pressure-cleaning trailer on a two-lane road.
According to authorities, Woods swerved to avoid an oncoming vehicle, clipped the rear of the truck and rolled his SUV onto its driver’s side. No one was injured in the crash.
Deputies reported observing signs they believed were consistent with impairment after arriving at the scene. Woods passed a breath test for alcohol but refused to provide a urine sample for additional testing. Authorities also said two hydrocodone pills were discovered in his pocket.
Woods told investigators he had been looking at his cellphone and changing the radio before the collision.
Despite Woods’ initial DUI charge, prosecutors ultimately concluded that the available evidence wasn’t sufficient to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he was impaired at the time of the crash.
Two forensic toxicologists who reviewed the evidence concluded there was insufficient proof of impairment. Without a urine sample, prosecutors also couldn’t establish what substances, if any, were in Woods’ system when the crash occurred.
Woods had initially pleaded not guilty before agreeing to Wednesday’s deal.
Following his arrest, the golf legend announced March 31 that he was stepping away from competition “for a period of time to seek treatment and focus on my health.” He subsequently spent several weeks receiving treatment in Switzerland before making his first major public appearance in June at the Travelers Championship.
The incident added another chapter to Woods’ complicated history behind the wheel.
In 2017, Woods was arrested after police found him asleep behind the wheel of a running vehicle in Florida. He later pleaded guilty to reckless driving and entered a diversion program after saying that an unexpected reaction to prescription medications contributed to the incident.
Four years later, Woods suffered severe injuries in a February 2021 single-car rollover crash outside Los Angeles. The accident nearly cost him his right leg and required extensive surgery, dramatically limiting his ability to compete professionally.
Woods has not played an official PGA Tour event since missing the cut at the 2024 Open Championship, although he remains heavily involved with the PGA Tour and is scheduled to host the Hero World Challenge in December.
And for anyone wondering whether the five-year suspension creates an unusual problem for a golfer—yes, the golf-cart question actually came up.
Florida officials initially weren’t sure whether Woods’ suspended driver’s license would prevent him from operating a golf cart. State Attorney Thomas Bakkedahl later clarified that Florida law permits an adult to operate a golf cart on public or private property despite Woods’ license suspension.
So Tiger can still drive down a fairway.
The highway, however, is another story.
For the next five years, somebody else will have to take the wheel.