Tiger Woods pleads guilty to reckless driving, forfeits driving licence

Tiger Woods has 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 said deputies found two pain pills in his pocket and he showed signs of impairment. He did a breathalyser test, which came out negative, but refused to take a urine test.

Neither Woods nor the person in the other vehicle was injured in the crash, according to officials. But his Land Rover caused $5,000 in damage to the truck, according to a police report. Woods had told a deputy that he was looking down at his phone and changing the radio station when he hit the truck.

Woods is among the most influential figures in golf, but his career has been derailed by multiple back and knee surgeries, car crashes and a dependence on pain medication.

Woods has been involved in four crashes over the years. He took a leave from the golf tour after a 2009 crash and again after the latest crash and has yet to return to tournament play.

He left the United States to seek treatment at an inpatient treatment facility, according to court records.

Woods made his first public appearance since returning from treatment on June 23 when he introduced the PGA Tour’s plans to revamp its schedule for 2028. Woods remained as chairman of the tour’s Future Competition Committee after his arrest. He did not take questions during that appearance.