Everything we know about Tiger Woods’ arrest

Tiger Woods was found “asleep at the wheel” of his Mercedes with the engine running when he was arrested, according to US Media reports on the police documents released on Tuesday.

The former World No.1 was charged with Driving Under the Influence (DUI), although Woods maintained the incident was not drink related and he “blew zeroes” on a breathalizer – indicating a lack of alcohol.

“Woods had extremely slow and slurred speech,” a copy of the police report published by US outlets said. He was “co-operative” but “confused” and was “unable to walk alone”. 

The police report says that while Woods initially told the arresting officer he was coming back from Los Angeles, having been golfing and did not know where he was, he then changed his story about where he was coming from and going to. 

It was further reported that officers also recorded that he had failed all but one of the roadside tests – including standing on one leg and the “walk and turn” test.

Police records show the 41-year-old golfer was pulled over at about 03:00 local time (07:00 GMT) near his home in Jupiter and later taken into custody.

He was released from Palm Beach County jail at 10:30 local time and is due in court for a mandatory appearance in early July. 

According to reports, both driver’s side tires were flat and there was damage to front and rear bumpers – and there will most likely be a release of dash cam footage on Wednesday. 

In a statement on Monday evening, Woods blamed “an unexpected reaction to prescribed medication”.

“I understand the severity of what I did and I take full responsibility for my actions,” Woods said in the statement.

“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.”

Woods apologized to his family, friends and fans and said, “I expect more from myself, too.”

“I will do everything in my power to ensure this never happens again,” he said.

Jack Nicklaus shows his support

Jack Nicklaus spoke about Tiger’s arrest while at a press conference on Tuesday at the Memorial Tournament, voicing the need for support for the 14-time major champion. 

“I feel bad for Tiger. Tiger’s a friend,” Jack said. “He’s been great for the game of golf. He needs our help”

“I’m a fan of Tiger’s. I’m a friend of Tiger’s. I think that he’s struggling”

“I hope he gets out it it and I hope he plays golf again. He needs a lot of support from a lot of people… And I’ll be one of them”

History of Tiger Woods’ set backs

In April Woods underwent a successful fourth back surgery, that he announced on May 24 had given him an “instant nerve relief. I haven’t felt this good in years”.

It was expected that he would be sidelined for six months, but it’s been three years since his first surgery forced him out of competitive action – and he hasn’t ever mounted a successful comeback since that point.

In April, 2014 he announced that he would miss the Masters for the first time as a professional after undergoing his first back surgery that would lead him miss several tournaments. 

He returned in June that year to the Quicken Loans National but missed the cut, and did not play again until the PGA Championship – where he can again missed the cut and then ruled himself out of consideration to be chosen for the Ryder Cup. 

In February 2015 injury woes flared up again as Woods walked off after playing just 11 holes of his first round at the Farmers Insurance Open, citing another back injury.

However, he returned to the Masters that year and ended up T17, with many believing this was the start of his comeback. He struggled to record a top 10 until the Wyndham Championship in August, so it was a surprise when he announced in September that he had undergone a second back operation and would be sidelined until early 2016. 

Just over a month later on October 30, 2015, Woods said that he undergone yet another back surgery to relieve pain – putting him to a total of three back procedures. “It’s one of those things that had to be done,” Woods had said. “I have an outstanding team of doctors, and I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

There was murmers that a return was imminent for Woods when he posted a video of his swing with the captioin “progressing nicely” in February, but by April he officially withdrew from the Masters and said there was no timetable for a return. 

2016 was the first time he missed an entire season of golf, releasing a statement saying he wouldn’t play in the US Open in June, before pulling out of both the Open and PGA Championship. He did however reappear as a vice-captain at the US Ryder Cup victory in October, before announcing that he would make his long-awaited return at the PGA Tour’s first Safeway Open. 

Despite his commitment he reverses his decision a few days later, saying “My health is good, and I feel strong, but my game is vulnerable and not where it needs to be,”

Woods finally made his long awaited come-back in December at the Hero World Challenge, recording the most birdies (and most bogeys) of anyone there which includes a second-round 65 that put him near the top of the leaderboard. It fueled excitement in fans that he was still capable of producing the outrageous play-making shots he was known for. 

In January of this year he signed an equipment deal with TaylorMade, and despite a missed cut at the Farmers Open – many thought he was just a little rusty. But he then withdrew before the second round of the Dubai Desert Classic with back-spasms, which then led to him missing the Masters for the third time in four years.

“I did about everything I could to play, but my back rehabilitation didn’t allow me the time to get tournament ready,” Woods had said.

He then announced his fourth back surgery in April to alleviate the ongoing pain in his back and leg.