TIGER DRINK DRIVE CHARGE
WOODS was arrested at 3am and spent four hours in a Florida county jail yesterday. He was charged with driving under the influence as his downhill spiral continued with another sad descent.
Barely recognisable in the police mugshot, the golf superstar who has not played since February as he recovers from back surgery was arrested near his home in Jupiter, about 90 miles from Miami.
Police spokeswoman Kristin Rightler would not disclose any details that led to Woods’ arrest nor reveal whether the charges against him involved drugs or alcohol. But American website TMZ claimed the star was ‘driving erratically’ and then refused to take a breathalyser after a police officer smelled alcohol on his breath.
There are also claims that the Mercedes he was driving was later taken away from the police compound by a member of his staff. More information will be released today.
It is another sorry episode in a once-starry career that has never recovered from his first encounter with the police on Thanksgiving Day in 2009, when he crashed into a fire hydrant situated next to the driveway of his then home in Orlando.
That led to all sorts of tawdry revelations regarding his serial infidelity, which in turn brought
about his divorce from wife Elin. The winner of 14 majors but none since his aura was damaged by that saga, Woods’ troubles in recent years have centred around his chronic back problems. Now 41, he has had four surgeries, and has spoken about the difficulties of coping with immobility. There have been rumours of an addiction to painkillers although none have been proven. Ironically, this harrowing tale comes seven days after Woods released a statement saying that he was feeling better after fusion surgery in April. Woods’ manager Mark Steinberg issued no statement, while Ty Votaw, spokesman for the PGA Tour, said they would not be making any comment. New sponsors Bridgestone and TaylorMade kept silent, although it would come as no surprise if both announce a parting of the ways from Woods in the next few days, citing unbecoming behaviour. Tiger last played at the Dubai Desert Classic in February. He never made it beyond the first round, hobbling his way through 18 holes before withdrawing. There had been hopes he would play at the Masters last month but he continued to suffer pain. Faced with no alternative if he was to live anything like a normal life, Woods opted for the last resort of fusion surgery. His rehab means he cannot twist and turn for another two months and had no chance of playing again this season, even if everything went to plan. However, he is the tournament host for the Quicken Loans National tournament staged in Washington at the end of next month. The last thing he would want is for that to be overshadowed by his own situation, it would come as no surprise if he issues a mea culpa of sorts before then, just as he did after the Thanksgiving saga of 2009.