The China Mail - Tiger Woods driver's license suspended for five years after crash

"If you were to drive for any reason at all you would go immediately back to jail," Judge Darren Steele told the golf superstar during a livestreamed brief hearing at the Martin County Courthouse in Stuart, Florida.

Woods, 50, initially faced the more serious offense of driving under the influence, but that was dropped under the terms of an agreement with prosecutors in which he agreed to plead no contest to lesser charges of careless and reckless driving.

Woods was involved in a March 27 road accident near his Jupiter Island home in which his SUV clipped a truck pulling a trailer and flipped on its side while attempting to pass on a residential road.

Authorities determined the 15-time major champion had not been drinking alcohol but found that he appeared to be impaired.

Woods, who has undergone multiple back operations and surgeries on severe leg injuries suffered in a 2021 California car crash, had two pills containing the opioid painkiller hydrocodone in his pocket.

He refused a urine analysis and was charged, jailed and released on bond.

Woods initially pleaded not guilty to charges of DUI with property damage and refusing to submit to a lawful test, telling authorities he was looking at his phone and changing radio channels when the accident occurred.

Days later, he said he was "stepping away" to seek treatment and focus on his health.

Since the crash, Woods has travelled outside the United States to seek treatment at an inpatient facility, reportedly in Switzerland.

He made his first public appearance since his arrest at the PGA Tour's Travelers Championship in June, introducing tour Chief Executive Brian Rolapp, who announced a new competitive structure for the tour to take effect in 2028.

As chair of the Future Competition Committee, Woods played a key role in shaping the new two-tier system featuring a PGA Tour Championship Series and a Challenger Series giving golfers a chance to secure a pathway to the elite circuit.

V.Liu--ThChM