‘Sluggish’ Woods found asleep at wheel, but not affected by alcohol
TIGER WOODS was found fast asleep behind the wheel of his car with the engine running and did not know where he was, according to police documents released yesterday.
The former world No 1 golfer was arrested in the early hours of Monday after a policeman noticed the car near Woods’s home in Jupiter, Florida.
The officer had to wake him up. Woods, 41, told the policeman he had been playing golf in Los Angeles – despite him having had the fourth round of surgery on his back in April, and publicly discussing how he was not yet ready to play. He then changed his story, and then asked how far he was from his home.
Woods struggled to complete sobriety tests including walking in a straight line and standing on one leg.
The father of two was taken to the local police station, where his speech was noted as “sluggish, very slurred.” The officer wrote: “Co-operative as much as possible. Very droopy. Extremely sleepy. Hard to keep eyes open and hard to walk.”
But Woods had no alcohol in his blood or urine.
The incident bears similarities to the 2009 scandal, when he was found fast asleep by his car outside his home – having hit a curb and crashed into a fire hydrant. It later emerged that his thenwife, Elin Nordegren, had chased him out of the house with a golf club at 2am when she found out about his infidelities: Woods had taken a sleeping tablet shortly before the altercation, and tested negative for alcohol.
Woods issued a statement apologising to fans and blaming the latest incident on an unexpected reaction to medication. The police report named four different drugs listed under “medical conditions” – Solarex, Vicodin, Torix and Vioxx.
“I understand the severity of what I did and I take full responsibility for my actions,” Woods said.
“I want the public to know that alcohol was not involved. What happened was an unexpected reaction to prescribed medications.”
The 14-time major champion is due in court on July 5.