It appears that no amount of shame and embarrassment can force this Tiger to truly change his stripes.
On Friday, the golf world was thrown into disarray when Tiger Woods flipped his Range Rover SUV onto its side in a high-speed crash on the millionaire’s playground of Jupiter Island, Florida, resulting in yet another DUI arrest.
It’s the 50-year-old’s fourth traffic-related scandal. Accompanying the incident was yet another grizzly mugshot, adding to a collection almost as full as the gallery of triumphant on-course images.
Woods’s tally of 15 major victories have afforded him the status of golf’s golden boy, and with it a certain type of lifestyle – one that he reportedly doesn’t intend on changing anytime soon.
As it emerges, Woods, who is worth an estimated $1.5billion, won’t hire a private driver due to his sensitivity over his personal life. Sources close to the golf star fear he’ll never truly change his ways for the better – even if it puts his romance with Vanessa Trump at risk.
‘Tiger is embarrassed with his recent arrest and he has promised to get to a place to where friends and family look at him in a positive way,’ an insider revealed to the Daily Mail.
Tiger Woods stares down the lens for his mugshot after being arrested for DUI
Woods and girlfriend Vanessa Trump had tense talks after he got out of jail on Friday
‘But here’s the thing: He enjoys what he has built for himself. He enjoys his money and what it brings to his life – he has no problem that money won’t fix. Let’s be honest, that will never end.
‘He will always live in that world. He will get another chance to be a part of the PGA and be a part of whatever he wants to do.
‘This incident will be not forgotten, but it will be something that will go by the wayside. Then, he can then continue his life the way he wants. He’s living his life, not what people want his life to be and that’s that.’
However, it is not only the golfing world Woods now needs to win back. This time, his girlfriend Vanessa Trump, the ex-wife of Donald Trump Jr, was watching the scandal play out.
Vanessa, the mother to five of President Donald Trump’s grandchildren, was said to have been furious and disappointed at her boyfriend’s run-in with the law. But while Woods wants to put this latest incident behind him, friends fear that he’ll never stop living life on his terms.
‘If people want to be a part [of his life], awesome. If not, things will be fine,’ they said. ‘That’s for relationships and everything else.
‘He’s in his 50s, he’d like to be left alone and deal with life the way he wants.’
The Daily Mail previously spoke to a source close to the couple who revealed Vanessa was waiting for Woods when he returned home from the Martin County Public Safety Complex, where the pair then endured a long night of crunch talks.
Woods’s life turned upside down with his car when he was involved in a high-speed crash
Woods is driven home from jail after being bailed out by a friend late Friday night
Trump has told Woods he needs to ‘get his s*** together,’ according to a source
‘She’s not happy at all,’ the source explained over the weekend. ‘She’s both disappointed and a little bit p**sed, if I’m being honest. It’s a definite red flag and she told him that he’s going to get this sorted out, and that she’s going to require that. He has to get things under control, or she’s not going to stick around.’
While not yet an ‘ultimatum,’ it is believed that Vanessa made her feelings very clear, adding yet more turmoil to Woods’s situation as he heads into his latest legal battle, with the possibility of real jail time hanging over his head.
After clambering out of the passenger side window of his vehicle, Woods refused to give a urine sample to cops and was arrested for DUI, property damage and refusal to submit to a lawful test.
He was transported to Martin County Public Safety Complex where he was booked at around 3pm, and his latest mugshot taken.
Cops released the remarkable image to the public shortly after 10pm on Friday. An hour later, Woods was bonded out and driven away from the jail, as fans and reporters swarmed the car for a glimpse of him.
An arrest affidavit seen by the Daily Mail has since revealed that the golf icon, 50, told police officers he was ‘looking down at this cell phone and changing the radio station’ before his rollover crash on Jupiter Island.
When officers searched Woods, they discovered two white pills inside the left pocket of his trousers. They were marked ‘M367,’ which is hydrocodone. It is a highly-addictive opioid used to treat severe or chronic pain.
Woods, who has battled addiction to painkillers in the past, was also said to be ‘sweating profusely’ after the incident and an officer noticed his movement was ‘lethargic and slow.’ He was also said to have been battling hiccups.
Woods has grown accustomed to the lifestyle his success on the course has afforded him
The golf icon was arrested for another DUI in 2017 after police found him slumped in his car
After his 2017 arrest, Woods was found with five drugs in his system, including two painkillers
The golf legend’s last rollover crash came in 2021, when he was seen speeding in LA County
The 15-time major winner’s eyes were also said to be ‘bloodshot and glassy’ and his pupils ‘extremely dilated.’ When asked if he is currently taking any prescription medication, Woods replied: ‘I take a few.’ Woods is due in court on April 23.
In photos taken by a Daily Mail photographer, Woods can be seen looking stony-faced with his lips pursed. He momentarily glanced out of the passenger side window at the gathered masses before disappearing into the night.
It was earlier revealed by Sheriff John Budensiek that Woods would be required to spend at least eight hours in prison before being allowed to leave on bail.
Speaking to reporters, the sheriff said of Woods’s jail time: ‘It doesn’t matter who you are, if you break the law we’re gonna follow the law. That’s a really easy path to take.
‘Now as far as being in the jail, we’re gonna make sure he’s safe. We’re not gonna put him in general population, he’s not gonna be with other inmates that can try and hurt him or try to capitalize on what he did.
‘He’ll pay the price, but he’s not gonna pay the price by getting punished in jail. He was not injured. He was lethargic on scene, but we believe that was because of what he was intoxicated on.’
This was not Woods’s first issue behind the wheel. He was arrested for another DUI in 2017 after police found him slumped in his car in Florida with five drugs in his system, including two painkillers.
Woods was later involved in a similar crash in 2021 in California, which shattered his right leg after he was trapped under the vehicle. He needed multiple surgeries in order to recover from his injuries.
He also crashed into a fire hydrant in November 2009 as he tried to flee his Florida home after wife Elin Nordegren discovered he had been having an affair. It sparked an unraveling of his reputation that he has never truly recovered from.
