Serious questions are being asked of those within elite golf‘s inner sanctum after troubled icon Tiger Woods crashed his car, allegedly under the influence once again.
Woods, arguably golf’s greatest ever player and undoubtedly the biggest name to ever grace the sport, was charged Saturday with driving under the influence with property damage and refusal to submit to a lawful test, both misdemeanours.
He rolled his SUV after clipping the trailer of a truck. No one was injured in the crash.
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Investigators on the scene believed Woods had taken some kind of medication or drug. They described Woods as lethargic and said the golfer agreed to a breath test that showed “triple zeroes” — no sign of alcohol. By declining the urine test, the sheriff said, officials will never get “definitive results” about what caused the impairment.
That was consistent with his 2017 arrest on a DUI charge in Florida, when Woods was found asleep behind the wheel of a car with the engine running, the right blinker on, two flat tyres and light damage to the driver’s side.
Woods said it was a bad mix of medication. Toxicology reports later revealed the active ingredient for marijuana, two painkillers, a sleep drug and an anti-anxiety drug. There was no alcohol.
Tiger Woods after his latest car crash, and at his Tomorrow Golf League. Nine
The pain medication has been standard fare for golf’s most celebrated — and wounded — player.
After four knee surgeries — the last one a week after he won the US Open with shredded knee ligaments and two stress fractures — Woods had four back surgeries in four years (2014 through 2017) only to return to win the Masters in 2019 in one of golf’s most astonishing comebacks.
And then came the most serious crash of all, in February 2021. His SUV was going 135 to 140km/h in an area with a speed limit of 72km/h when it veered off a coastal road in the Los Angeles suburbs, rolled down a hill and smacked into a tree.
He was not cited and Los Angeles authorities did not seek a warrant for blood samples. The injuries to his right leg and ankle were extensive — Woods later said amputation was considered — and it was remarkable he even returned to playing.
Woods has never been the same as a golfer since that accident. He has played 11 tournaments in the five years since that crash. Of the four times he finished 72 holes, he hasn’t been closer than 16 shots off the winner. He shares the PGA Tour’s all-time record with 82 wins, and has 15 majors to his name.
The overturned vehicle in a rollover crash which involved Tiger Woods in Jupiter Island. AP
Since the crash in the early hours of Saturday (AEDT) his manager at Excel Sports, Mark Steinberg, as well as the PGA Tour have declined to comment.
Others have openly admitted to turning a blind eye to several red flags in the lead-up to the incident.
Viewers of Woods’ Tomorrow Golf League – an indoor virtual league being played by some of the world’s top golfers – have noted some worrying signs of late.
Videos have circulated on social media of the 50-year-old profusely sweating for no apparent reason, and slurring his words. The suggestion has been Woods was under the influence of something, or suffering withdrawals.
High profile golf podcaster Sam Riggs was accused of instructing his staff at the Fore Play Podcast not to post about Woods’ crash. He later confirmed that to be true.
“You think I told our team to not post about Tiger’s DUI and to protect him? You’re god damn right I did,” he said in a fiery video to social media.
Fans wearing shirts in support of Tiger Woods during the third round of the Texas Children’s Houston Open. Getty
“You want me on that wall. You need me on that wall. We will protect Tiger Woods until we f—ing die.”
Fellow high profile golf reporter Dan Rapaport spent the weekend copping a barrage of hate on social media after he posted a video of himself in tears about the Woods news.
“Pretty awful news to wake up to,” Rapaport said in the video.
“It’s just really sad… a lot of us grew up idolising this guy and this is not what we want to see him in the news for.
“He seemed so good at TGL just a couple weeks ago, happy and engaged. We all just want to see Tiger happy and well.
“It’s a huge bummer. It’s just really sad. I wish he would never drive… but I think driving is one moment where he feels normal and in control.”
Rapaport and Riggs are among those being accused of defending Woods when the legendary golfer needs to be held to account.
Leading golf writer Alan Shipnuck accused those within Woods’ inner circle of failing to act on alleged drug addiction and mental health issues.
Woods was famously close to his father Earl, who died in 2006. The 15-time major winner was also close to his mother, Kutilda, who died last February.
“Tiger has had so many chances, so many people have tried to get him help and he’s still on this self-destructive path,” Shipnuck told CNN.
“It makes you worry about his future, it makes you worry about his kids. You have to worry about the man and the human, and clearly he still has his demons. He’s trying to get healthy and clearly he has a long way to go.
“It may have to be his children (who help him). There was one person who could speak truth to power to Tiger, and that was his father Earl, and he died in 2006. Tiger has been on a downward spiral since.
“There is clearly a vacuum of people around Tiger who care about him enough to tell him the hard truths. He’s surrounded by enablers, yes-men and employees, and they’re not going to tell him what he needs to hear.
“We’re going on nearly two decades of Tiger humiliating himself with run-ins with the law, photos of his private parts being spread on the internet, any number of controversies. You almost wish he had walked away from the game at his peak because he’s doing so much to diminish the Tiger we used to love.”
Shipnuck accused police of “sweeping under the rug” Woods’ previous rollover in 2021.
Many have questioned why the billionaire golf superstar doesn’t hire a personal driver so he can avoid getting behind the wheel.
The Daily Mail is reporting US president Donald Trump has ordered his secret service operatives to keep his grandchildren out of the car if Woods is driving. Woods has been dating Vanessa Trump, who is the former daughter in law of the president and mother to five of his grandchildren.
Trump and Woods are friends but the concerns around the latter’s driving, as well as substance use, have become clear.
“It’s a hard no. He doesn’t want Tiger behind the wheel with his grandkids. Not happening,” one source told Rob Shuter’s Naughty But Nice Substack.
“Trump hates anything to do with drugs or alcohol. That’s a line for him, especially when it comes to his family… In Trump’s mind, there’s just too much risk.”
Just last week the golf world was abuzz with reports Woods may be making a Masters comeback at Augusta National on April 9.
He was also in line to captain America’s Ryder Cup team later this year.
“Very disturbing,” Woods’ friend and fellow pro Kevin Kisner said on NBC.
“He was working very hard on his game, trying to practice, get back in shape. He signed up for the US Senior Open yesterday.
“Just a really unfortunate incident… the only positive is no one was injured, we can all move forward and hopefully help him get better.”
Now the golfing world is simply hoping Woods can get his life back on track.
– with AP