Tiger Woods pleads guilty to reckless driving in Florida DUI case

Tiger Woods changed his plea to guilty on Wednesday in his Florida DUI case, accepting a reckless-driving conviction months after denying two misdemeanor charges.

The golf star agreed to a five-year suspension of his driver's license and a $1,000 fine. He appeared smiling during the hearing at the Martin County Courthouse. Woods had previously pleaded not guilty to driving under the influence with property damage and refusing to submit to a lawful test.

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a few

The charges followed a March crash on Florida's Jupiter Island. Officials said Woods' Land Rover clipped a truck and rolled onto its side. An arrest report said he had been traveling at high speed on a beachside residential road with a 30 mph speed limit, causing about $5,000 in damage to the truck. Woods was not injured.

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stepping away for a period of time to seek treatment

According to the report, Woods told a deputy he had been looking down at his phone and changing the radio station when the collision occurred. Deputies said he appeared impaired. A Breathalyzer test showed no alcohol, but Woods refused a urine test. He told police he had taken “a few” prescription medications, and officers found two pills later identified as the opioid hydrocodone in his pants pocket.

Woods previously said he was “stepping away for a period of time to seek treatment” and “work toward lasting recovery.” He made his first public appearance after treatment in June, introducing the PGA Tour's plans to overhaul its schedule for 2028. Woods, 50, remains one of golf's most influential figures, but his career has also included serious car accidents, pain-pill dependence and multiple back and knee surgeries. He survived a 2021 crash in Los Angeles that severely injured his right leg, and he faced earlier DUI-related incidents in Florida in 2017 and 2009.

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work toward lasting recovery