Tiger Woods Pleads Guilty to Reckless Driving Charge and Loses Licence Following Florida Crash

Tiger Woods appeared in court in Stuart, Florida, on September 2, 2026, for a plea hearing following a car crash and his arrest six months ago. Woods entered a plea agreement to a reckless driving charge after a rollover crash in March near his home in Florida.

Woods appeared in a courtroom in Martin County on Wednesday and agreed to a reduced charge after he was initially charged with driving under the influence (DUI). A judge ordered his driving licence be suspended for five years.

Woods, 50, said little during the hearing and beforehand sat at the defence table, looking back at the courtroom gallery. He arrived at the courthouse with his girlfriend Vanessa Trump, President Donald Trump’s former daughter-in-law. She sat behind him during the hearing.

The golf legend previously pleaded not guilty to a driving under the influence charge. Woods was arrested after his SUV clipped a truck and rolled over on its side on a beachside residential road on Jupiter Island. A sheriff’s report stated that deputies found two pain pills in his pocket and that he showed signs of impairment. He completed a breathalyser test with a negative result, but refused a urine test. Officials reported that neither Woods nor the person in the other vehicle sustained injuries, though his Land Rover caused $5,000 in damage to the truck.

Woods explained to a deputy that he was looking down at his phone and changing the radio station at the time of the collision. As one of the most influential figures in golf, his career has previously faced setbacks due to multiple back and knee surgeries, car crashes, and a dependence on pain medication.

Having been involved in four crashes over the years, Woods took a leave from the golf tour following the 2009 crash and again after this latest incident, and has not yet returned to tournament play. Court records indicate he left the United States to seek treatment at an inpatient facility. He made his first public appearance since returning on June 23 to introduce the PGA Tour’s plans to revamp its schedule for 2028, maintaining his role as chairman of the tour’s Future Competition Committee without taking questions.