Tiger Woods has an ‘unexpected’ excuse for driving under the influence.
The 41-year-old golfer was arrested around 3am on the Military Trail, south of Indian Creek Parkway in Jupiter, Florida, and now blames a ‘mix of medications’ for his DUI, rather than alcohol.
Woods was pulled over five minutes away from his $83m Jupiter Island home and restaurant, The Woods, after civilians spotted him ‘driving erratically, all over the road’.
Now Woods has released a statement claiming he was not under the influence of alcohol, but rather a mix of prescription medications, after recovering from back surgery.
Woods’ statement reads:
I understand the severity of what I did and I take full responsibility for my actions. I want the public to know that alcohol was not involved. What happened was an unexpected reaction to prescribed medications.
I didn’t realise the mix of medications had affected me so strongly. I would like to apologize with all my heart to my family, friends and the fans. I expect more from myself too. I will do everything in my power to ensure this never happens again.
The 14-time Major winner, and former golfing world number one, has dropped to 876th in the world rankings after years of injury problems and has not played a major tournament for the past two years.
Woods, who was reported to be worth $740million by Forbes in 2016, had fusion surgery to address his back problems in April.
Although a police officer claims Woods behaved in an ‘arrogant’ manner upon his arrest, according to TMZ, the golfing pro says different.
The statement continued:
I fully cooperated with law enforcement, and I would like to personally thank the representatives of the Jupiter Police Department and the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s office for their professionalism.
Jupiter Police Department spokesperson Kristin Rightler said that she was unaware whether the arrest was for drugs or alcohol but confirmed the report would be available on Tuesday.
Woods was also found driving under the influence of Ambien in November 2009, after reports of his affairs and subsequent divorce from Elin Nordegren broke.
Woods was not charged for that incident, during which he crashed his Cadillac into a tree.
A former emo kid who talks too much about 8Chan meme culture, the Kardashian Klan, and how her smartphone is probably killing her. Francesca is a Cardiff University Journalism Masters grad who has done words for BBC, ELLE, The Debrief, DAZED, an art magazine you’ve never heard of and a feminist zine which never went to print.