Tiger Woods has pleaded no contest to a reduced reckless-driving charge after a rollover crash in Florida, avoiding the original allegation of driving under the influence but losing his driving licence for five years.
The 50-year-old golfer appeared at Martin County Courthouse in Stuart on Wednesday, 2 September, where he also admitted refusing to submit to a test following the collision. He was fined US$1,500 and avoided a jail sentence.
Woods arrived with his girlfriend, Vanessa Trump, and sat quietly at the defence table during the brief hearing. He left the courthouse without speaking to reporters.
Judge Darren Steele warned him that driving during the suspension would result in an immediate return to jail. The two five-year suspensions were ordered to run concurrently.
The case arose from a crash on 27 March, when Woods’s Land Rover struck a truck on a residential road near his home on Jupiter Island before overturning. Neither Woods nor the other driver was injured, although the truck sustained about US$5,000 in damage.
According to the sheriff’s report, Woods told a deputy that he had been looking down at his phone and changing the radio station when he hit the vehicle. Deputies said they found two pain pills in his pocket and observed signs of impairment.
Woods provided a breath sample that produced a negative result but refused to give a urine sample. Prosecutors later said two toxicologists had concluded there was insufficient evidence to prove impairment and that Woods had developed a pharmacological tolerance to the medication.
State attorney Thomas Bakkedahl defended the decision to accept the reduced plea, saying: “I did what I think is right.” A no-contest plea is not an admission of guilt, although it is treated as a conviction in the criminal justice system.
The former world number one has not returned to regular tournament golf since the crash. His career has been repeatedly interrupted by serious back and leg injuries, surgery and previous driving incidents, including a 2021 rollover crash in California.
