Tiger Woods Pleads No Contest to Reckless Driving
Tiger Woods Pleads No Contest to Reckless Driving
The News
Tiger Woods pleaded no contest Wednesday to a reckless driving charge in Martin County, Florida — a reduced count in the case that began when he was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence after a March rollover crash near his home.
The 50-year-old golfer appeared in a Stuart courtroom, agreed to the reduced charge, and a judge ordered his driver's license suspended for five years, the Associated Press reported.
He arrived and left with his girlfriend, Vanessa Trump, President Donald Trump's former daughter-in-law. He said little in court and did not address reporters on the way out.
What He Pleaded To
Woods also pleaded no contest to refusing to submit to testing and was fined court costs, according to court documents cited by the AP. USA TODAY reported that the judge adjudicated him guilty of the lesser charge and that he was fined $1,500.
A no contest plea is not an admission of guilt — it means the defendant offers no defense — but the criminal justice system treats it as a conviction.
Timeline
Woods is arrested by Martin County sheriff's deputies after his Land Rover clips a truck and rolls onto its side on a beachside residential road on Jupiter Island. Neither Woods nor the other driver is hurt. A police report puts the damage to the truck at $5,000.
Deputies find two pain pills in his pocket and note signs of impairment. A Breathalyzer comes back negative; Woods refuses a urine test. He tells a deputy he was looking down at his phone changing the radio station when he hit the truck. Officers wrote that his eyes were glassy and bloodshot and his "normal faculties were impaired."
Woods pleads not guilty to the original DUI charge and is charged with DUI with property damage and refusal to submit to a DUI test.
Body camera footage from the arrest is released. In it, Woods, who had wandered from the crash site with his phone to his ear, tells officers, "I was just talking to the president."
Woods leaves the United States for inpatient treatment, according to court records.
He makes his first public appearance since treatment, introducing the PGA Tour's plan to revamp its 2028 schedule. He takes no questions.
The plea hearing, moved up from Sept. 8 by a court notice filed Tuesday, according to Fox News. Woods pleads no contest.
Reactions
Woods left the courthouse without commenting.
Trump spoke about the case to reporters the day of the arrest in March: "I feel so badly, he's got some difficulty... Very close friend of mine, he's an amazing person, amazing man."
Vanessa Trump, who is the ex-wife of Donald Trump Jr. and went public with Woods in 2025, sat directly behind him during the hearing. When the relationship was confirmed, the president said, "let them both be happy."
What's Next
The plea closes the criminal case. The five-year license suspension stands as ordered.
Woods has not returned to tournament play. He remained chairman of the PGA Tour's Future Competition Committee after the arrest.
More
Woods has been involved in four crashes over the years, and his career has been interrupted repeatedly by back and knee surgeries and by dependence on pain medication. He took a leave from the tour after a 2009 crash and again after this one.
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