Tiger Woods of the Jupiter Links Golf Club plays his shot from the second tee the TGL finals golf tournament in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., Tuesday, March 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Reinhold Matay)
The 50-year-old golfer was arrested on Friday afternoon in Jupiter Island, Florida, and charged with driving under the influence after his Land Rover clipped a pressure-cleaner truck and rolled onto its driver’s side on a residential two-lane road.
Nobody was injured. But Woods showed signs of impairment at the scene.
He blew a triple zero on a breathalyzer, no alcohol in his system at all. But when police asked for a urine test to check for drugs or medication, he refused.
He was arrested anyway. He faces three charges: DUI with property damage and refusal to submit to a lawful test.
Florida law requires that anyone arrested for DUI be held for at least eight hours before they can be released on bond.
Woods was booked into Martin County Jail around 3 p.m. He is being held separately from the general population. This is his second DUI arrest.
What Happened on South Beach Road
Just before 2 p.m. Friday, a pickup truck pulling a pressure-cleaner trailer was driving north on South Beach Road in Jupiter Island when the driver slowed down to turn into a driveway.
The driver checked his mirror. Woods’ Land Rover was coming up fast from behind.
The truck driver tried to edge over to give Woods room to pass. Woods swerved. The Land Rover clipped the back of the trailer. The SUV tipped onto its driver’s side and slid along the road before stopping.
Woods climbed out through the passenger side door.
He was standing at the scene when police arrived. He was alive. He was not physically hurt.
But Martin County Sheriff John Budensiek told reporters at a 5 p.m. press conference that Woods appeared “lethargic” and that officers believed he “might be impaired.”
“He did exemplify signs of impairment,” Budensiek said. “We believe it was some type of medication or drug.”
No drugs or medication were found inside the vehicle.
The Breathalyzer. The Refusal. The Problem.
Woods agreed to take a breathalyzer test at the scene. The result: 0.00. Zero. Not a drop of alcohol.
Police then asked for a urine test, which can detect medication and drugs. He refused.
Under Florida law, refusing a urine test is itself a criminal charge when a DUI arrest has been made. That is why refusal to submit to a lawful test is one of the three counts he is facing.
The sheriff was direct about what refusing means for the investigation. “We will never get definitive results with what he was impaired on,” Budensiek said.
A Florida defense attorney told reporters that without the urine test results, proving impairment from a controlled substance is going to be very difficult in court. That legal reality is likely why Woods’ legal team advised him to refuse.
“He is cooperative,” the sheriff said. “But he is not trying to incriminate himself.”
Three Days After His Comeback
The timing of this arrest is painful to read.
On Tuesday, March 24, Tiger Woods played in the TGL finals in Palm Beach Gardens. His team, Jupiter Links Golf Club, lost to the Los Angeles Golf Club. He hit impressive shots. He smiled after. He said his body was feeling good enough to potentially play in the Masters.
That was three days before this crash.
It was his first competitive appearance since the 2024 Open Championship. He had spent the previous year recovering from two more surgeries. A ruptured left Achilles in March 2025. A lumbar disc replacement in October 2025.
He had fought his way back again. And then, on a quiet residential road four miles from his home, it fell apart again.
The Pattern That Can No Longer Be Ignored
This is Tiger Woods’ fourth crash. His second DUI arrest.
In November 2009, he crashed his SUV into a fire hydrant and a tree outside his home in Windermere, Florida.
That crash exposed the personal scandal that changed how the world saw him. He was treated for minor injuries.
In May 2017, police found him asleep at the wheel in Jupiter, Florida. Toxicology reports found five drugs in his system including Vicodin, Dilaudid, Xanax, Ambien, and THC.
He was charged with DUI. He later pleaded guilty to reckless driving, paid a $250 fine, and completed a DUI first-offender program.
In February 2021, he crashed his Genesis GV80 SUV in Rolling Hills Estates near Los Angeles. He was going between 84 and 87 mph in a 45 mph zone.
The car flew through the air and landed on its side. He was trapped in the wreckage. Firefighters had to use tools to get him out.
He shattered both bones in his lower right leg. He had a metal rod inserted into his tibia. It took more than a year to walk normally again.
And now this. A residential road in Jupiter Island. Friday afternoon. A pressure-cleaner truck turning into a driveway.
Yahoo Sports columnist Jay Busbee wrote it plainly: “Enough is enough. Woods needs help, for his own sake as well as those around him.”
The Masters Is in Two Weeks
The Masters tournament at Augusta National begins April 10. Tiger Woods had entered it, though he had not officially committed to play.
On Thursday, Trump told Fox News that Woods would be at Augusta but would not play. That was before the crash and arrest.
Whether Woods attends or competes is now an entirely different conversation. His legal team will have opinions. Augusta National will have opinions. The PGA Tour will have opinions.
His manager at Excel Sports did not respond to requests for comment Friday evening. Woods has not made a public statement.
He is due to be released from jail sometime Friday night. The legal process that follows will take months. The conversation about what happens next will take much longer than that.
Sheriff Budensiek closed his press conference with a line that would have been a relief in any other context. “This could have been a lot worse,” he said.
He was right. It also could have been prevented.
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