Tiger Woods has avoided jail after resolving his Florida crash case through a plea agreement that reduced the original DUI charge to reckless driving.
The 50-year-old 15-time major champion appeared before Judge Darren Steele at the Martin County Courthouse in Stuart on Wednesday, September 2, 2026, and pleaded no contest to willful and wanton reckless driving, second offence.
Woods was adjudicated guilty, fined $1,000 and had his driving licence suspended for five years. He also pleaded no contest to refusing a lawful test, attracting another $500 fine. The suspension periods will run concurrently, while a careless-driving citation was also resolved.
The case followed a March 27 crash on Jupiter Island, where Woods’ Land Rover struck a trailer attached to a pickup truck and overturned. He escaped through the passenger-side door without injury.
Woods initially pleaded not guilty to DUI with property damage and refusal to submit to testing.
Police said he appeared lethargic, was sweating heavily and had bloodshot, glassy eyes. Two hydrocodone pills were found in his possession.
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Woods told investigators he had been looking at his cellphone and changing the radio station before the crash and failed to notice that the vehicle ahead had slowed. He passed an alcohol breath test but refused a urine test for drugs.
Prosecutors reduced the DUI charge after toxicologists found insufficient evidence to establish impairment. State Attorney Thomas Bakkedahl said their assessment also considered Woods’ tolerance to hydrocodone.
Judge Steele warned that driving during the five-year suspension could result in immediate imprisonment, with no hardship exemption available under the agreement.
The outcome recalls Woods’ 2017 arrest in Florida, when he was found asleep behind the wheel of a running Mercedes. He later pleaded guilty to reckless driving and entered a diversion programme.
Woods attended Wednesday’s hearing with his girlfriend, Vanessa Trump, and left after the proceedings.
The plea deal ends the case but leaves the golf star without driving privileges for five years.