TIGER’S NOT OUT OF THE WOODS
New scandal as golfer is busted on DUI rap in Fla.
Tiger Woods has driven into the rough — again.
The legendary golfer was busted on suspicion of driving under the influence in South Florida early Monday when a cop smelled booze on his breath during a traffic stop and Woods refused to take a Breathalyzer, a report said.
Woods’ mug shot — in which he is seen with bleary eyes, scraggly beard and thinning, disheveled hair — showed how far the man who was once the brighteyed new face of golf had fallen.
The pro golfer — who hasn’t been the same since his extramarital sexploits were exposed in 2009 — was pulled over at around 3 a.m. in the town of Jupiter, a police spokeswoman said.
He was heading southbound, away from his $83 million waterfront home and his restaurant, The Woods, according to local reports.
The 14-time major champion, who was the world’s No. 1 golfer longer than anyone else, was driving a 2015 Mercedes-Benz “erratically, all over the road” when he was stopped, law-enforcement sources told TMZ.
Woods, 41, grew “arrogant” during the stop and refused to take a Breathalyzer test, which is grounds for an automatic arrest.
The site also reported that his reps repeatedly called the Jupiter police to find out whether the cop was wearing a body camera.
Woods spent 3¹/2 hours in the Palm Beach County Jail before being released at 10:50 a.m., online booking records indicate.
Woods issued an apology Monday night but claimed that he was not boozed up.
“I understand the severity of what I did, and I take full responsibility for my actions,” Woods said in a statement to USA Today.
“I want the public to know that alcohol was not involved. What happened was an unexpected reaction to prescribed medications. I didn’t realize the mix of medications had affected me so strongly.”
Police spokeswoman Kristin Rightler said she didn’t know if the allegations against Woods involved alcohol or drugs and said his arrest report wouldn’t be available at least until Tuesday.
It was unclear if anyone was in the car with the divorced dad of two, whose marriage to Swedish former model Elin Nordegren collapsed when she learned of his serial philandering and chased him out of their home with a golf club early on the morning after Thanksgiving 2009.
Woods’ agent didn’t return calls for comment.
Last month, Woods underwent his fourth back surgery since 2014, and on Wednesday he wrote on his blog that the operation gave him “instant nerve relief.”
“I haven’t felt this good in years,” he wrote.
He also said he “unequivocally”
wanted to return to pro golf.
“It’s just a matter of not screwing up and letting it fuse,” he wrote. “I’m walking and doing my exercises, and taking my kids to and from school. All I can do is take it day by day. There’s no hurry.”
Woods’ girlfriend, stylist Kristin Smith, learned of the arrest in a phone call she received at a Neiman-Marcus store in Dallas, TMZ reported.
Several shoppers said Smith “went crazy,” saying, “I knew it, I knew it,” the Web site reported.
Smith, the ex-wife of former Dallas Cowboys safety Gerald Sensabaugh, then reportedly began crying, bought $5,000 worth of merchandise and left the store.
Woods hasn’t won a major tournament since 2008 and was last on a course for February’s Omega Dubai Desert Classic, where he withdrew before the second round due to back spasms.
He was the world’s first billionaire athlete and had enjoyed a squeaky-clean image until 2009, when he was plunged into scandal after smashing his Cadillac SUV in a neighbor’s yard the morning after Thanksgiving.
It emerged he was fleeing a furious Nordegren, who had chased him out of their house with a golf club after confirming his infidelity.
Soon came a parade of more than a dozen mistresses — including porn stars, waitresses and club hostesses — with whom Woods was alleged to have had romps everywhere from his mansion to a church parking lot.
The sordid revelations cost him lucrative endorsement deals with major companies, including Nike, Gatorade and Gillette.
Since divorcing Nordegren in 2010, Woods spent two years in a relationship with Olympic skier Lindsey Vonn before they broke up in 2015. Last year, he was revealed to be dating Smith.
Ex-Woods mistress Cori Rist, who met him in a New York nightclub in 2006, told The Post she was upset by his arrest.
“I only feel compassion for the guy,” she said. “I think he’s a good person, and it’s kind of sad.”
The lingerie model-turned-makeup artist said Woods had no problems with alcohol or drugs during their six-month affair.
“I think he’s a good person, and clearly he’s a good father, and he’s going through a difficult time, and I think people should offer support instead of applauding his downfall,” Rist said.
Another mistress — self-described “porn queen” and onetime Nevada brothel worker Devon James — was shocked by the arrest, according to her husband.
“She was like, ‘Wow, can’t believe it . . . He used to be totally against drugs and drinking,’ ” the husband, Nick Jannette, recalled.