Woods Was Asleep at Wheel Prior to Arrest, Florida Police Say

Ken Bredemeier, VOA News
30 May 2017 (2:45PM)

Tiger Woods, once the world's top golfer, was asleep at the wheel of his car and didn't know where he was before he was charged with driving under the influence earlier this week, according to a police report released Tuesday.

Police in Jupiter, the oceanside Florida city where Woods lives, said he exhibited "extremely slow and slurred speech" after they awakened him when they found him sitting in his stopped car in the right lane of a roadway with the motor running. Police said he struggled with several roadside tasks they asked him to do.

The police report listed four prescription medications Woods said he was taking as he recovers from his latest back surgery, his fourth since 2014.

Two tests showed Woods' blood-alcohol content to be zero, supporting his claim that the incident occurred because of an "unexpected reaction to prescription medications," and not alcohol.

In a statement hours after he was released by police, Woods said he understood the severity of his actions and took full responsibility.

"I didn't realize the mix of medications had affected me so strongly," he said.

Woods added that he fully cooperated with police and thanked them for their professionalism.

The greatest player of his generation and one of the best of all time, Woods, 41, has not won a major tournament since 2008. He was the world's top-ranked golfer for nearly 700 weeks but is now ranked at number 876.

Woods has been plagued in recent years by multiple back surgeries that have forced him to withdraw from recent tournaments. He has won 14 major golf championships and had been pursuing the record of 18 held by retired U.S. golfer Jack Nicklaus.