Tiger Woods is worth $1.5 billion, has won 15 major golf championships, and apparently cannot be stopped from getting behind the wheel of a car, even though the car and the road keep disagreeing with him.
The golf legend was arrested last Friday on suspicion of DUI following yet another rollover crash in Jupiter Island, Florida. Investigators believe he may have been under the influence of some kind of medication or drug at the time. Woods, who had to crawl out of his overturned SUV through the passenger door, was charged with driving under the influence with property damage and refusing a lawful sobriety test. For anyone keeping score at home, this is the fourth time Woods has been involved in a car accident. Four. The man has more crashes than a rookie karting session.
So why, exactly, does a billionaire not have someone driving him around? Great question. According to a source who spoke with People, it basically comes down to privacy. Woods does not want employees watching over him or keeping tabs on his whereabouts. He wants to move around freely, without anyone clocking his schedule. That is, genuinely, a reasonable thing for a famously private person to want.
The source also noted that Woods “thinks he is fine to drive.”
Reader, he has been in four car crashes.
The Crash Record That Would Make Any Insurance Agent Cry
The most notable incident before this latest one came in February 2021, when Woods’ SUV flew off a coastal road in Los Angeles at serious speed. That crash left him with multiple leg and ankle injuries so severe that his professional golf career was nearly ended entirely. Before that, there was a 2017 DUI arrest in Florida, where his mugshot made a very unwanted worldwide tour of the internet. The pattern, to put it gently, is consistent.
To be fair to Woods, privacy is not an unreasonable concern for someone of his profile. The man has spent decades being one of the most scrutinized athletes on the planet. Wanting to move through life without a staff member tracking every turn is understandable.
But there is a version of privacy that does not involve four car incidents, and it might be worth exploring. Tinted windows exist. Discretion clauses in employment contracts exist. Rental cars without a name attached to them exist. There are options here.
Woods, who turns 50 this year, remains one of the most compelling and complicated figures in sports history. His return from that devastating 2021 crash to compete at the highest levels of golf again was remarkable. His driving record, however, continues to be a completely different story.
At some point, someone in his life is going to have to have the talk. Not about golf. About the other kind of driving.