STUART, Fla — Tiger Woods pleaded guilty Wednesday to willful, wanton, and reckless driving and to refusing to submit to a lawful test. His driver’s license will be suspended for five years, and he was ordered to pay a $1,000 fine.
Woods entered the plea before County Judge Darren Steele at the Martin County Courthouse in Stuart, Florida, CBS12 in West Palm Beach reported. He had previously pleaded not guilty on March 31 to two misdemeanor charges: DUI with property damage and refusal to submit to a lawful test.
Attorney Douglas Duncan filed notice Tuesday that Woods would be back in court for a change of plea. The hearing got underway at 7:30 a.m. CT. Woods had originally been due back for a status hearing Sept. 8 before the plea hearing was moved up.
Woods also received a careless-driving citation from the crash, TCPalm’s Will Greenlee reported. That carried a $163 civil penalty and was also scheduled for a change of plea Wednesday.
The Jupiter Island Crash
Deputies responded shortly after 1 p.m. CT on March 27 to the 200 block of South Beach Road on Jupiter Island, close to Woods’ home. Investigators said he attempted to pass a pickup truck that was towing a trailer, went across double solid lines, and hit the trailer. The Range Rover ended up on its driver’s side. Investigators put the damage to the other vehicle at about $5,000.
Martin County sheriff’s deputies described Woods as having bloodshot and glassy eyes, dilated pupils, and slow movements. Deputies found two pills in his pocket that were later identified as hydrocodone. A breath test returned no alcohol in his system. Woods refused to provide a urine sample.
Court records show prosecutors and Woods’ defense agreed to let the state subpoena records from Cleveland Clinic Martin South Hospital tied to his March 27 hospitalization. Steele signed that order on June 23.
Treatment and the PGA Tour Board
Four days after the crash, Woods announced he was stepping away from professional golf. In a statement posted to social media, he said he understood the seriousness of the situation and asked for privacy for his family and loved ones. Woods said he was “stepping away for a period of time to seek treatment” and focus on his health.
On April 1, a judge approved his request to travel out of the country for inpatient treatment. Woods spent six weeks in a rehabilitation program in Switzerland, CBS12 legal analyst Robert Ellis said. He landed back in Palm Beach on May 13.
Woods returned to PGA Tour business on June 22, when he attended the policy board meeting in Connecticut that approved schedule changes. Tour CEO Brian Rolapp announced the changes publicly the next day.
Woods’ Prior Florida DUI Case
Before Wednesday’s hearing, Ellis said Woods could not use the same diversion program he entered in 2017. Jail time was still possible depending on the plea and sentence. Prosecutors did not have “the clean toxicology evidence that a jury would like to see,” Ellis said.
Palm Beach County deputies arrested Woods on May 29, 2017, after finding him asleep behind the wheel of his Mercedes-Benz. On Oct. 27 of that year, he pleaded guilty to reckless driving and entered the county’s first-time DUI offender program. The deal included one year of probation and a $250 fine. Tests showed no alcohol in his system.
Woods, 50, has not played an official PGA Tour event since the 2024 Open Championship. He underwent lumbar disc replacement surgery in October 2025, his seventh back procedure since 2014. In March, he played for Jupiter Links Golf Club in the TGL Finals.
