Sir Nick Faldo believes Tiger Woods must be held accountable for his actions as he dubbed the PGA Tour response to the golf icon’s latest problems as “weak” and remarked: “We’re not meant to be on the street with two pills in our pocket.”
Woods passed a breathalyser test after rolling his car in Florida on Friday last week and has pleaded not guilty to charges including driving under the influence and refusing to provide a urine sample. He has since announced he is stepping away from golf to receive treatment, presumably for his use of painkillers. A police report said he had two pills of a semi-synthetic opioid at the scene.
Faldo, recuperating from heart surgery, said: “I feel sorry for Tiger because he’s living in 24-7 pain. I asked him [about] that years ago, even before the LA accident [in 2021 when he broke his leg in high-speed car crash], but it’s all been self-inflicted.
Faldo questioned whether Woods’s status had allowed him to avoid accountability Getty
“There’s one side that’s like, ‘let’s care for Tiger’ [but] then there’s got to be a responsibility and accountability side as well. This is a serious thing he’s done, you know. The PGA Tour statement was so predictably weak, how they showed that the Tour will look after him, as they always have done, and then you’ve got Jack [Nicklaus] saying it’s tarnished the entire sport. You’ve got your opposites but there has to be some accountability.”
Faldo’s words came as footage emerged of the crash from the Martin County Sheriff’s Office. In it Woods, 50, is seen kneeling next to the road. He tells an officer: “I looked down at my phone and all of a sudden — boom.”
The video, released on CNN affiliate WBPF, also shows an officer saying: “I do believe your normal faculties are impaired, OK? And you’re under an unknown substance, so at this time you are under arrest for DUI.” Woods denies having been under the influence of drugs.
Image of Woods from police body camera video released by the Martin County Sheriff’s Officemartin county sheriff’s offic/AP
The PGA Tour on Wednesday pledged its support to Woods in a statement. “Tiger Woods is a legend of our sport whose impact extends far beyond his achievements on the course. But above all else, Tiger is a person, and our focus is on his health and well-being. Tiger continues to have our full support as he takes this important step.”
Faldo, 68, said: “The bottom line is I really think that something should be done a little bit more serious than waving him off to a tropical island and saying ‘Welcome back’ in three or four months.”
As well as the 2021 crash in which he nearly lost a leg, Woods was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence in 2017 when found asleep at the wheel of his stationary Mercedes with the engine running. A toxicology report found opioids in his system but prosecutors dropped the DUI charge in exchange for him pleading guilty to reckless driving. He was fined and told to enter the country’s drug treatment programme.
Referencing that other charge, Faldo said: “If you were done for DUI a couple of times in your business, what would happen to you? I got a feeling, as I said, if he disappears and comes back in a couple of months, everything will carry on as normal, and I’m not sure if that’s right, not a good message to the kids of today.”
He also questioned the role Woods has, both in terms of being the focus of attention for his sparse playing appearances and in terms of shaping the future of the sport for the PGA Tour.
“He’s finished nine tournaments in the last five years, and yet they think that he’s the future on the golf course and the future in the decision making,” Faldo said. “I don’t know what I’d ask the official bodies to decide, but you would have thought in a normal walk of life there is some accountability for doing that, isn’t there? I guess he’s always been a special case, because of who he is and what he’s done, so I suppose he’s avoided that accountability.”
The PGA has been approached for comment.
Mickelson withdraws from Masters over family health issue
Phil Mickelson has pulled out of next weekend’s Masters and will take an “extended period” out of the game due to a family health issue.
The three-times winner at Augusta had been due to tee off at this year’s edition but announced his withdrawal from next weekend’s event on Thursday.
“Unfortunately, I will not play in the Masters Tournament next week and will be out for an extended period of time as my family continues to navigate a personal health matter,” the 55-year-old said. “I have great respect for Augusta National Golf Club and it is definitely the most special week of the year. I wish everyone the best of luck and will be watching.”
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