1 min readNew DelhiUpdated: Sep 2, 2026 07:36 PM IST

Tiger Woods pleaded guilty and entered a plea agreement on Wednesday to a reckless driving charge following a rollover crash in March this year near his home in Florida.

Appearing in a courtroom in Martin County, Woods agreed to a reduced charge after he was earlier charged with DUI by the authorities. A judge on Wednesday ordered that his driver’s licence be suspended for five years.

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Golf · Courts · United States

Tiger Woods: from the 2009 crash to a 2026 reckless-driving plea

Four crashes in 17 years, two plea deals over driving charges. On Wednesday, a Florida judge accepted a plea agreement that reduced Woods’ DUI charge and took his licence for five years — with no exceptions.

Updated September 2, 2026 · Martin County Court, Stuart, Florida

5 YEARS

Driver’s licence suspension, no hardship exemption

“The five-year driving suspension is for the safety of the public. There are no exceptions. If you were to drive for any reason at all, you would go immediately back to jail,” Judge Darren Steele told Woods. Woods has 30 days to appeal.

The road here

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2009

Florida

SUV crashes into a fire hydrant and a tree outside his home

No criminal charges

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May 2017

Palm Beach County, Florida

Found asleep behind the wheel of his parked Mercedes

Arrested on suspicion of DUI

Later pleaded guilty to reckless driving; $250 fine, DUI school, a year’s probation and a diversion programme

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Feb 2021

Los Angeles area, California

Serious single-vehicle rollover crash

Severe leg and ankle injuries

No charges; investigators said he was driving at nearly twice the posted 45 mph limit

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March 27, 2026

Jupiter Island, Florida

Land Rover clips a truck’s trailer while passing and rolls onto its side

Arrested on a DUI-with-property-damage charge, plus refusal to submit to a lawful test

No one injured; about $5,000 of damage to the truck, per the sheriff’s report

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September 2, 2026

Stuart, Florida

Plea agreement accepted

DUI charge amended to reckless driving, second offence; a careless driving citation added

Woods pleaded guilty, also to refusing a lawful test

Five-year licence suspension on both counts, running concurrently

$1,000 and $500 fines, plus $18.44 in costs, paid at the hearing

By the numbers

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50

Woods’ age

15

Major championships — second only to Jack Nicklaus

82

PGA Tour wins

$5,000

Damage to the truck in the March crash

What happened in the 2026 crash

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1 · Approach

30 mph road

TRAILER

TRUCK

WOODS

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2 · Passing, then contact

Clips the rear of the trailer

TRAILER

TRUCK

WOODS

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3 · Rollover

SUV on its side, driver climbs out

TRAILER

TRUCK

SUV

Schematic — not to scale. Based on the police account.

01

Woods attempted to pass the truck on a residential road

02

His Land Rover clipped the back of the trailer

03

The SUV veered off and rolled onto its side

04

Woods climbed out through the passenger side

05

No one was injured

06

Truck damage put at $5,000

What police reported

Deputies noted signs of impairment

Two hydrocodone pain pills found in his pocket

Breath test: negative for alcohol

Woods declined to give a urine sample

Woods told a deputy he had been looking at his phone and changing the radio station when he hit the truck, according to the sheriff’s report.

Woods was never convicted of driving under the influence in this case: prosecutors amended that charge as part of the plea agreement. All impairment observations are as recorded by Martin County deputies.

Sources: Martin County Court proceedings, Sept 2, 2026; Martin County Sheriff’s Office report; AFP, Reuters and Associated Press reports.

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During the hearing, Woods, 50, said little and sat in the defence gallery. The veteran golfer arrived at the courthouse with his girlfriend, Vanessa Trump, President Donald Trump’s former daughter-in-law.

Earlier, Woods had pleaded not guilty to a driving under the influence charge. The golf champion was arrested previously after his SUV hit a truck and rolled over on its side on a beachside residential road on Jupiter Island.

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