Tiger Woods Reveals He Was ‘On the Phone with the President’ During His Crash

Following a car accident involving his SUV last week in Florida, Tiger Woods reportedly pulled out his phone and informed a deputy, “I was just on the phone with the president,” as revealed in body camera footage from the incident that led to his DUI arrest.

Though the actual conversation wasn’t recorded, Woods was overheard expressing gratitude as he ended the call just before the deputy approached him. It remains unclear whether Woods was referring to former President Donald Trump, who is linked to Woods through his former daughter-in-law, Vanessa Trump.

In the wake of Woods’ arrest, Trump commented on the situation, saying to reporters: “I feel really sorry for him. He’s having a tough time. He’s a very close friend of mine. An incredible person. An amazing man. But, he’s facing some challenges.”

The White House did not respond immediately to inquiries about whether Trump had spoken to Woods following the accident.

Woods explained to the police that he was distracted by his phone and adjusting the radio when his speeding Land Rover collided with the back of a truck and rolled onto its side along a residential road in Jupiter Island. Thankfully, there were no injuries reported.

In the footage, Woods appeared shocked as he was cuffed after failing a sobriety test. A video from the back of the police vehicle shows him hiccupping, yawning, and frequently nodding off during the 15-minute journey.

“I do believe your normal faculties are impaired and that you’re under an unknown substance. Therefore, you are under arrest for DUI,” said Martin County Sheriff’s Deputy Tatiana Levenar as she conducted the sobriety test.

“I’m being arrested?” Woods responded, visibly surprised.

“Yes, sir,” Levenar confirmed.

After securing Woods in handcuffs, officers searched him and found two white pills in his pocket.

“That’s a Norco,” Woods identified the pills, referencing a pain relief medication that contains acetaminophen and the opioid hydrocodone. Authorities later verified that Woods possessed hydrocodone.

In the released body camera footage, Woods insisted to Levenar that he hadn’t consumed alcohol and mentioned that he had taken “a few” medications earlier that day, although his specific drug references were muted in the video.

“I looked down at my phone, and then all of a sudden — boom,” Woods recounted to the deputies while kneeling on a lawn before his arrest.

Woods, now 50, pled not guilty to the DUI charges. He later issued a statement indicating he would be stepping back from the sport indefinitely “to seek treatment and prioritise my health.”

During the sobriety assessment, deputies noted Woods limping and wearing a compression sock on his right knee. He shared that he has undergone seven surgeries on his back and over twenty on his right leg, affecting his ability to walk as his ankle seizes up.

Throughout questioning, Woods was observed hiccupping and continuously moving his head during one of the sobriety exercises, prompting deputies to instruct him several times to keep his head still, according to the arrest report.

“Based on my observations of Woods, his performance on the exercises, and my training, knowledge, and experience, I believed that Woods’ normal faculties were impaired and that he was unable to operate the vehicle safely,” Levenar reported.

Woods is a pivotal figure in the sport of golf, renowned worldwide, and made history as the first person of Black heritage to win the Masters in 1997. He has enthralled golf enthusiasts with a series of records that many believe are unbreakable.

However, numerous injuries, including those sustained in a 2021 car accident in Los Angeles that severely damaged his right leg — prompting discussions of amputation — have prevented him from achieving more.

Since the 2024 British Open, Woods has not participated in an official event. He was recuperating from a seventh back surgery in October and was aiming for a return at the Masters, where he has triumphed five times.

After last week’s incident, Woods agreed to take a breathalyser test which indicated no alcohol in his system, but he declined a urine test, according to authorities. He was arrested and later released on bail after eight hours.

Under a recent revision to Florida law, declining an officer’s request for a breath, blood, or urine test is now classified as a misdemeanor, even for first-time offenders.