Golf legend Tiger Woods has been seen hitting balls for the first time since his DUI arrest in Florida earlier this year.
Footage shows Woods working on his swing at the driving range at Liberty National Golf Club in New Jersey on Tuesday morning. He was taking part in the second day of the Nexus Cup, an exclusive amateur golf event.
Woods had not been publicly seen swinging a club for months, but the 15-time major winner said he was capable of hitting “pretty much anything” in his bag.
Earlier this month, Woods pleaded no contest to charges arising from the DUI case in late March. As part of an agreement with prosecutors, he will be barred from driving for five years.
Following his arrest, Woods received court approval to travel to Switzerland, where he spent several months in a rehabilitation facility.
The 50-year-old golfer has not appeared in a professional tournament since the 2024 Open Championship at Royal Troon, where he failed to make the cut.
Golf icon Tiger Woods was seen hitting balls on the range for the first time in months
It marked Woods’ first public practice session since his arrest on a DUI charge in late March
Woods recently pleaded no contest to the DUI charges and had his driving license suspended for five years
Woods changed his plea during a courtroom appearance in early September, avoiding a trial in the case.
Police said Woods had been traveling at high speed on a beachside road when his Land Rover struck a tractor-trailer and overturned. The collision caused an estimated $5,000 in damage to the other vehicle.
Woods escaped from the vehicle without injury. He later told officers that he had been looking at his phone and adjusting the radio when the crash occurred.
A Breathalyzer test found no alcohol in Woods’ system, although police said he declined to provide a urine sample.
The Sheriff’s report obtained by Our News Outlet stated that deputies found opioids in Woods’ pocket and observed indications that he was impaired.
A previous hearing took place on August 4, after a July decision authorized prosecutors to obtain Woods’ hospital records related to the crash.
Martin County circuit court judge Darren Steele approved an agreement between the State Attorney’s Office and Woods’ legal team that allowed prosecutors to request records from the hospital that treated the PGA legend following his crash.
Back in May, Steele approved a similar agreement granting prosecutors access to Woods’ prescription medication records from his Palm Beach pharmacy between January 1 and his March crash.
Woods changed his plea to no contest during a court hearing on September 2
Woods appeared puffy-eyed as he left the court alongside doting girlfriend Vanessa Trump
Vanessa led him back to a car after he had pleaded no contest and had his license suspended
Prosecutors and Woods’s attorney have agreed to a protective order that limits the release of any hospital or prescription records to the State Attorney’s Office, law enforcement, state experts and the defense.
Woods was closing in on a return to golf and was widely expected to compete at The Masters in the days before the crash.
The 15-time major champion’s legal problems have since been put into perspective by Vanessa’s cancer diagnosis. She revealed her bout with an unspecified form of breast cancer back in May.
The March crash marked the fourth major driving-related incident of Woods’s adult life.
Five years earlier, when Woods rolled another SUV down a steep embankment in California, he did not face any accusations of driving under the influence. Instead, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department claimed Woods was driving at around 80mph, nearly twice the legal limit, at the time of the crash.
Witnesses told TMZ that Woods appeared agitated and impatient while leaving a golf tournament parking lot in the moments before the crash.
Woods appeared puffy-faced as he arrived for his change-of-plea hearing in Florida
Vanessa was front and center inside the court as Woods pleaded no contest to reckless driving
Woods after his arrest on suspicion of driving under the influence (DUI) in Jupiter, Florida, on May 29, 2017. He later pleaded guilty to reckless driving
Woods changed his original not guilty plea in the wake of his DUI arrest back in March
Vanessa with him and her 19-year-old daughter Kai back in March
Woods was never charged in 2021, but he wasn’t so lucky in 2017, when he was found by Jupiter police about 15 miles from his home. Officers said they found him unconscious in his Mercedes-Benz, which was parked awkwardly on the roadside at around 3am.
Upon closer inspection, they noticed damage to his vehicle.
Woods didn’t have any alcohol in his system, but later tests found the active ingredient for marijuana, two painkillers, Vicodin and Dilaudid, the sleep drug Ambien and the anti-anxiety drug Xanax.
He later claimed he had been self-medicating for pain caused by his fourth back surgery and insomnia. Woods did not specifically address the marijuana issue and he wasn’t found with the drug in his possession.
Woods pleaded guilty to reckless driving and received a year of probation, a $250 fine and was ordered to undergo 50 hours of community service. He was also banned from drinking alcohol during the probation.
In July 2017, Woods completed a private program to address his dependency on painkillers.
Woods stands alongside his lawyer to face County Judge Darren Steele on Wednesday
In April Our News Outlet broke the news that the golfer would leaving the country ‘imminently’
The golf great flipped his Land Rover clean onto its side during his accident in Jupiter
‘I will continue to tackle this going forward with my doctors, family and friends,’ he tweeted at the time. ‘I am so very thankful for all of the support I’ve received.’
Woods’ most notorious car crash took place in 2009, when he rammed his Cadillac Escalade into a fire hydrant, tree and several hedges near his home.
He was treated for minor injuries and received a ticket for careless driving, but while he thanked his then-wife Elin Nordegren for getting him out of the car, there were lingering doubts about the story. After all, it was only days earlier that the National Enquirer claimed he’d had an affair with Rachel Uchitel, a 9/11 widow and New York nightclub manager.
The alleged details of the November 27, 2009 crash were ultimately included in the best-selling biography by Jeff Benedict and Armen Keteyian, titled Tiger Woods.
