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Golf News · PGA Tour · Jupiter Island, Florida
"I Was Just Talking
to the President."
Tiger Woods was arrested for DUI on March 27. Bodycam footage released today captures him telling officers he just spoke with Donald Trump — from the crash scene.
March 27 Crash & Arrest
0.000 BAC
2 Hydrocodone pills
Not Guilty Plea
Tiger Woods · DUI Arrest · March 27, 2026 · img1
Tiger Woods was arrested near his home on Jupiter Island, Florida after a rollover crash on March 27, 2026. | Photo: Martin County Sheriff's Office / Getty Images
The bodycam footage was released on a Thursday afternoon, the kind of detail that would ordinarily be buried under tournament coverage. But there was no burying this. As officers approached the scene of a rollover crash on Jupiter Island, Florida, Tiger Woods could be seen walking away from his overturned Range Rover, phone to his ear. He finishes the call. "Thank you so much. All right. You got it. Bye." Then, to the deputy who walks over: "I was just talking to the president."
The line landed like a shot. In one sentence, the surreal geography of Tiger Woods' life in 2026 — the injuries, the legal trouble, the relationship with Vanessa Trump, the friendship with Donald Trump — collapsed into a single moment on the side of a Florida road. A 50-year-old golf legend, fresh from a crash, on hold with the most powerful office in the world, about to fail a sobriety test.
TMZ Sports confirmed the call was indeed to President Donald Trump, who had commented on the incident publicly within hours of the crash. Trump, speaking to reporters outside Air Force One, said: "I feel so badly. He's got some difficulty. Very close friend of mine. An amazing man." The White House did not formally confirm the phone call, but did not deny it either.
"I was just talking to the president."
— Tiger Woods, to Martin County Sheriff's Deputy · March 27, 2026The Crash · What Happened
A Phone Distraction, a Trailer, and a Rollover
According to the arrest affidavit, the sequence of events on March 27 was straightforward, if grimly familiar for Woods. He was driving his black Range Rover SUV on Jupiter Island when he looked down at his phone. He didn't see the white Ford F-150 in front of him slowing to make a right turn. His vehicle clipped the truck's trailer and rolled onto its driver's side.
No other injuries were reported. Woods climbed out through the passenger side. What followed was captured on bodycam — a man who appeared significantly impaired, despite a breathalyzer reading of 0.000. Officers described bloodshot, glassy eyes with "extremely dilated pupils," profuse sweating while sitting in an air-conditioned vehicle, a lethargic and slow manner. He told them he had not consumed alcohol but had taken "a few" prescription medications that day.
Bodycam footage · Tiger on phone at crash scene · img2
Bodycam footage released April 2 shows Woods on his phone at the crash scene before being placed under arrest. | Photo: Martin County Sheriff's Office
The Arrest · Evidence
0.000 BAC — But Two Pills in His Pocket
When deputies searched Woods after his arrest, they found two white pills in his left pants pocket. Woods identified them immediately: "That's a Norco." Norco is a brand name painkiller containing acetaminophen and the opioid hydrocodone. Woods acknowledged taking "a few" prescription medications earlier that day, though the specific names were muted in the released footage. Authorities later confirmed the pills were hydrocodone.
π What the Affidavit Showed
▶
Breathalyzer result: 0.000 — no alcohol detected
▶
2 hydrocodone pills (Norco) found in left pants pocket
▶
"Bloodshot and glassy eyes with extremely dilated pupils"
▶
"Sweating profusely" with the vehicle's A/C running
▶
Appeared "lethargic and slow" — failed field sobriety test
▶
Refused urine test — now a misdemeanor under updated Florida law
0.000Blood Alcohol
2Hydrocodone Pills
8Hours in Custody
3rdDUI Incident
When handcuffed, Woods expressed genuine surprise. "I'm being arrested?" he asked. The deputy confirmed it. "I'm not drunk," Woods told officers repeatedly at the sheriff's office. His 82 PGA Tour wins and 15 major championships did not follow him into the DUI room.
The Call · Trump Connection
A Friendship, a Relationship, and a President on Speed Dial
The relationship between Tiger Woods and Donald Trump predates politics. The two men have golfed together for decades, sharing a mutual affinity that has survived the friction that tends to follow Trump wherever he goes. Woods has consistently refused to be drawn into political commentary about his friend, maintaining a studied neutrality that has occasionally frustrated observers on both sides.
The current dynamic is more personal. Woods is dating Vanessa Trump — the former wife of Donald Trump Jr. and mother of five of the president's grandchildren, including Kai Trump, a freshman on the University of Miami's women's golf team. What was once a friendship between two famous men who happen to love golf is now, in some sense, a family matter.
Trump's public response to the incident was characteristically brief and warm. "I feel so badly. He's got some difficulty. There was an accident and that's all I know," he told reporters. "A very close friend of mine. He's an amazing man. But some difficulty. I don't want to talk about it." Later, via the New York Post, he elaborated: "Tiger lives a life of pain because of his prior injuries, but he's doing great after the accident."
The History · Pattern of Concern
This Has Happened Before
2009
Cited for careless driving following the infamous Thanksgiving incident outside his Florida home. The beginning of a very public unraveling.
May 2017
Found asleep at the wheel of a damaged car in Florida. Toxicology showed Vicodin, Dilaudid, Xanax, Ambien, and THC in his system — but no alcohol. Pleaded guilty to reckless driving. Entered treatment one month later.
February 2021
Serious single-car rollover in Rancho Palos Verdes, California. Multiple leg fractures. Required emergency surgery. Investigators ruled it an accident. His professional golf career appeared finished.
March 24, 2026
Plays a TGL indoor golf league match. Tells reporters: "I'm trying to come back but my body doesn't recover like when I was 24 or 25. I've had a couple bad injuries this past year."
March 27, 2026
Rollover crash on Jupiter Island. DUI arrest. Two hydrocodone pills found in pocket. Calls President Trump from the scene. Arrested and released 8 hours later.
April 1, 2026
Posts statement on X: "I will be stepping away for a period of time to seek treatment and focus on my health." Pleads not guilty to DUI and refusal to submit to testing.
April 2, 2026
Bodycam footage released. The "I was just talking to the president" moment goes viral. Confirms he will not play in the 2026 Masters. Declines U.S. Ryder Cup captain role.
Tiger Woods · Martin County Sheriff's Office · img3
Tiger Woods was booked at the Martin County Sheriff's Office complex following the March 27 crash. | Photo: Martin County Sheriff's Office
What Happens Now
Treatment, No Masters, and an Uncertain Future
The legal picture is straightforward, if not simple. Woods faces two misdemeanor charges: DUI with property damage, and refusal to submit to a lawful test. Under a change to Florida law last year, refusing a breath, blood or urine test became a misdemeanor even for a first offense — which adds complexity to his defense. He pleaded not guilty on Tuesday in Martin County court.
The golf picture is bleaker. Augusta National Golf Club confirmed Woods will not participate in the 2026 Masters Tournament — ending what would have been one of the most anticipated returns in the history of the event. He was expected to be announced as U.S. Ryder Cup captain for the 2027 matches in Ireland; he has now withdrawn from consideration for that role as well.
Woods' statement, posted to X, was spare and direct. "I will be stepping away for a period of time to seek treatment and focus on my health." He has been in this place before — in 2017, he entered a clinic for issues with prescription pain medication and a sleep disorder. The parallel is uncomfortable to draw, but unavoidable.
"I feel so badly. He's got some difficulty. A very close friend of mine. An amazing man."
— President Donald Trump, speaking to reporters after Air Force One · March 27, 2026At 50, Tiger Woods has outlasted every expectation that was placed on him — as a prodigy, as a champion, as a man who came back from a near-fatal car crash to compete at Augusta. Whether he can outlast this moment is a different kind of question, one that has nothing to do with his golf swing and everything to do with his health.
The bodycam footage — the crash, the phone call, the handcuffs, the disbelief — is now part of the public record. So is the line that will follow him: seven words, spoken to a deputy in the dark on Jupiter Island, that somehow managed to capture the strangeness of his life in a single breath.
"I was just talking to the president."
The 2026 Masters begins April 9 at Augusta National. Tiger Woods will not be there. For the first time in a long time, that feels less like a scheduling conflict and more like a statement about where his priorities have to be. We hope he gets the support he needs.
Full Valero Texas Open coverage and Masters preview at www.thefittingroomgolf.com.
The Fitting Room Golf · www.thefittingroomgolf.com · @THEFITTINGROOMGOLF
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