Miami (AFP) – Golf superstar Tiger Woods has reportedly returned to Florida six weeks after a judge granted him permission to seek treatment overseas in the wake of his arrest on suspicion of driving under the influence. Celebrity news site TMZ photographed the 50-year-old Woods disembarking from his private jet at Palm Beach International airport on Wednesday. The 15-time major champion is thought to have been undergoing treatment at a facility in Switzerland.
Woods pleaded not guilty to driving under the influence in a March 27 road accident in Florida, where his vehicle clipped a truck pulling a trailer and flipped on its side while attempting to overtake on a residential road. Authorities determined he had not been drinking alcohol but found that he appeared to be impaired. Woods, who has undergone multiple back operations and surgeries on severe leg injuries suffered in a 2021 California car crash, had two pills containing the opioid painkiller hydrocodone in his pocket. He refused a urine analysis and was charged, jailed and released on bond.
Related news
On Tuesday, a Florida judge ruled that Woods’s prescription drug records will be made available to prosecutors in the case, although he ordered that for privacy reasons they will be shielded from public view and not made available through Florida open records law. Woods, who told police he was looking at his phone when the accident occurred, said in a statement after his arrest that he was “stepping away for a period of time to seek treatment and focus on my health.”
Having teased a return at last month’s Masters, where he is a five-time champion, Woods was absent at Augusta National, and the PGA of America announced that he had withdrawn from consideration to captain the 2027 US Ryder Cup team. Jim Furyk, who was given the captaincy, said at this week’s PGA Championship at Aronimink that Woods could have a role with the team, possibly as an adviser, although he had yet to speak to Woods about that possibility.
© 2024 AFP
