Tiger Woods has had his driver’s license suspended for five years after he agreed to a plea deal following his DUI arrest in March.
Woods appeared in a Martin County, Florida, courthouse on Wednesday morning to change his plea in the case from not guilty to no contest on the reduced charges of reckless driving and refusal to submit to a lawful test. Woods was previously charged with and pleaded not guilty to driving under the influence, which has been dropped, as well as refusal to submit to a lawful test, which remained. A no contest plea means a defendant accepts a court’s punishment without officially admitting or denying guilt.
The license suspension also comes with $1,500 in fines, and Woods will also be responsible for $18.44 in state attorney’s fees and all court costs. “I want you to understand that five years of driving is for the safety of the public,” Martin County Judge Darren Steele said to Woods. “There are no exceptions. If you were to drive for any reason at all, you would go immediately back to jail.”
Woods was accompanied in court by his attorney Douglas Duncan and girlfriend Vanessa Trump. He did not offer any statement or speak to reporters after the hearing.
The golfer was arrested on March 27 in South Florida for driving while impaired, which resulted in a rollover car crash. Woods, who was not seriously injured, was originally charged with DUI, property damage, and refusal to submit to a lawful test. Woods passed a breathalyzer test, but refused to do a urine test once taken to the Martin County jail. Woods was driving a Range Rover, and was attempting to overtake a pressure cleaner truck that was pulling a small trailer on a two-lane road on Jupiter Island, just a few miles from his longtime residence. The speed limit on that road is 30 miles an hour; it’s unclear how fast Woods was driving. As Woods’s Range Rover was attempting to pass the truck, Woods swerved to avoid an oncoming vehicle and clipped the back end of the truck, and then rolled onto its driver’s side door.
Woods announced on March 31 that he was “stepping away for a period of time to seek treatment and focus on my health.” He played in one TGL match before the arrest but has not competed professionally since the incident. Woods made his first public appearance since the arrest on June 23 at the Travelers Championship when he introduced PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp, who delivered news about major PGA Tour structural changes. Woods has remained chairman of the PGA Tour’s Future Competition Committee since the arrest.
Woods in recent years has played in the parent-child PNC Championship alongside his son Charlie, and is the host of the PGA Tour’s Hero World Challenge. The Hero is scheduled for Dec. 3-6, and the PNC is scheduled for Dec. 19-20. Woods, 50, is eligible to compete on the PGA Tour Champions circuit, which is for golfers age 50 and older.
