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Associated Press

Superstar golfer Tiger Woods pleaded guilty to reckless driving and agreed to enter a diversion programme on Friday, five months after he was found passed out in his Mercedes with prescription drugs and marijuana in his system.
Woods, 41, spoke only briefly during a hearing at a Palm Beach County courthouse in Florida, answering questions from a judge about his plea agreement.
Prosecutors dropped his driving under the influence charge, and the judge warned him to stay out of trouble.
“This particular plea agreement has no jail time on it. However, if you violate your probation in any significant way, I could revoke your probation and then I could sentence you to jail for 90 days with a fine of up to US$500, is that understood?” Judge Sandra Bosso-Pardo said.
Woods, 41, nodded. He did not make any statement during the hearing or outside the courthouse.

In the diversion programme, Woods will spend a year on probation and pay a US$250 fine and court costs. He has already met some of the programme’s other requirements, completing 50 hours of community service at the Tiger Woods Foundation, prosecutor Dave Aronberg said.
Aronberg did not say specifically what Woods did with the charitable group, but said he met the terms of the deal. Woods also attended a workshop where victims of impaired drivers detail how their lives were damaged.
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Aronberg said most DUI offenders do not qualify for the diversion programme because they have a prior record or were in an accident. About 2,500 first-time offenders have graduated from the county programme since it began four years ago.
“This is designed for first-time offenders, where the person made a one-time mistake and they’re going to overcome it,” Aronberg said. “Mr Woods was treated like any other defendant in his situation.”

Since he was intoxicated with prescription drugs and marijuana, according to court records, he will also be required to undergo regular drug tests.
Woods arrived at the courthouse in a black sport utility vehicle, wearing sunglasses and a dark suit with no tie. Police officers surrounded him as he walked down a hallway inside the courthouse and they ringed the inside of the courtroom during the high-profile proceeding.
Woods was arrested early on May 29 when officers found him unconscious in his Mercedes, which was parked awkwardly on the roadside and had damage to the driver’s side.
It’s not clear how he damaged the car. Officers checked the area but didn’t find that he had hit anything. He was about 15 miles from his home.
His arrest was recorded by an officer’s dashcam video and released to the public.

Woods had the active ingredient for marijuana, two painkillers – Vicodin and Dilaudid – the sleep drug Ambien and the anti-anxiety drug Xanax in his system but no alcohol, according to a toxicology report released in August. He completed a drug treatment programme in July.
Woods has said he had been self-medicating to relieve the pain from his fourth back surgery and insomnia.
The DUI arrest was the first time Woods had been in trouble since Thanksgiving weekend 2009, when his SUV hit a tree and a fire hydrant outside his then-Windermere, Florida, home.
That led to revelations that he had multiple extramarital affairs and a divorce from his wife Elin Nordegren, the mother of his two children. He spent 45 days in a Mississippi clinic where he was treated for an addiction.

Woods’ 79 PGA Tour victories and 14 major golf titles both rank No 2 all-time. He has not competed since February because of his back injury and is not expected to return this year. His last win was in August 2013.
Woods has said his back is improving. Even though he has been a non-factor on the PGA Tour, Forbes Magazine lists Woods as the 17th best-paid athlete in the world in 2017, making US$37 million, almost exclusively from endorsements.


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Tiger Woods

Tiger Woods avoids jail after pleading guilty to reckless driving in Florida court

Tiger Woods leaves the North County Courthouse in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida after pleading guilty to a charge of reckless driving. Photo: Agence France-Presse

Golfer Tiger Woods makes his way into a North County Courthouse courtroom in Palm Beach Gardens Friday Oct. 27, 2017 to plead guilty to a second-degree misdemeanor reckless driving charge. (Carline Jean/Sun Sentinel/TNS)

epa06231295 Captain's assistant Tiger Woods of the US Team attends a press conference during practice rounds prior to the Presidents Cup at Liberty National Golf Club in Jersey City, New Jersey, USA, 27 September 2017. The Presidents Cup will take place from 28 September to 01 October. EPA-EFE/ANDREW GOMBERT

(FILES) This file still image from a dashcam video released by the Jupiter, Florida, Police Department on May 31, 2017, shows Jupiter police offices arresting golfer Tiger Woods on May 29. The video, from a dashboard camera in the vehicle of Jupiter police officers, shows Woods wobbling as he tries to walk along a straight line in a field sobriety test. Woods has blamed the DUI arrest near his home on an adverse reaction to prescription medication. / AFP PHOTO / Jupiter Police Department / HO / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT "AFP PHOTO / Jupiter Police Department" - NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS

Golfer Tiger Woods arrives at the Palm Beach County courthouse, Friday, Oct. 27, 2017, in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. Woods pleaded guilty to reckless driving and agreed to enter a diversion program to settle a charge of driving under the influence. (AP Photo/Alan Diaz)

A cocktail of five different drugs was found in Tiger Woods’ system after arrest

Tiger Woods was found to have five different drugs in his system at the time of his arrest on DUI charges. Photo: AP

(FILES) This file photo taken on September 28, 2016 shows USA Vice-Captain Tiger Woods smiling during a practice round ahead of the 41st Ryder Cup at Hazeltine National Golf Course in Chaska, Minnesota. Woods had five drugs, including the opioid painkiller hydrocodone, in his system when he was arrested on May 29, 2017, on suspicion of driving under the influence, according to a toxicology report released on August 14, 2017. Also present were the powerful painkiller hydromorphone; anxiety drug alprazolam (also known as Xanax); sleep drug zolpidem (also known as Ambien) and THC, which is a chemical component of marijuana. / AFP PHOTO / JIM WATSON

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American 14-time major golfing champion will spend a year on probation and pay a US$250 fine and court costs after driving under the influence charge is dropped


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Tiger Woods avoids jail after pleading guilty to reckless driving in Florida court

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}American 14-time major golfing champion will spend a year on probation and pay a US$250 fine and court costs after driving under the influence charge is dropped

American 14-time major golfing champion will spend a year on probation and pay a US$250 fine and court costs after driving under the influence charge is dropped