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Tiger Woods failed four sobriety tests

Tiger Woods arrested on reported DUI charge0:49

Golfer Tiger Woods was arrested in South Florida on a charge of driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, according to media reports. Jillian Kitchener reports.

Tiger Woods was arrested on a DUI charge in Florida.

Sarah BlakeNews Corp Australia Network

TIGER Woods was asleep at the wheel of his car and had to be woken up by police before failing a sobriety test, officials say.

Woods will face court on July 5 after being charged with driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol and cited for improper stopping, standing or parking in an illegal place, according to Palm Beach

County court records were released this morning, revealing how Woods was found by police.

Police said they had to wake up Woods, who was buckled into the driver’s seat of his 2015 Mercedes Benz worth $ A297,524 with the engine on, brake lights on and a flashing red blinker.

TMZ reports he slurred his words and didn’t seem to understand what was being asked of him by attending police who got him to take five sobriety tests.

Police described Woods as “cooperative as much as possible,” saying he had trouble keeping his eyes open.

The affidavit says he then failed four field sobriety tests, which also reveals that Woods was on four prescription drugs – Soloxex [sic], Vicodin, Torix and Vioxx. It also notes that Woods has not taken Vioxx this year.

He also agreed to a urine test. Those test results have not been made public yet.

Tiger Woods’ mugshot. Picture: Palm Beach County Sheriff’s office via APSource:AP

“Woods stated that he was coming from LA California from golfing,” the report states.

“Woods stated that he did not know where he was. Woods had changed the story of where he was was going and where he was coming from.”

He then asked ‘”how far from his house he was,” according to the affidavit.

At the time, Woods was driving south, away from his home on Jupiter Island, the report also states.

He was arrested and at a testing facility he did not have any alcohol on his breath, according to the report, which said he was “cooperative as much as possible, very droopy, extremely sleepy, hard to keep eyes open, hard to walk”.

He was also asked to perform a ‘Walk & Turn’ , a ‘One Leg Stand’, but could not keep a starting position. At one point, police said Woods appeared to be on the verge of falling over and one officer rushed over to catch him if he had. He also failed to pass the ‘Finger To Nose’ test.

Woods also failed to finish the Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus test as he ‘did not follow the stimulus.’

He then passed the Romberg alphabet test.

“When asked if he understood the Romberg alphabet test, he stated, ‘yes, recite entire national anthem backwards’,” the police report said.

According to an incident report, police described fresh damage to the driver’s side of the car – both tires were flat, along with minor damage to the rims.

There also was minor damage to the front driver’s side bumper and rear bumper, and the passenger rear tail light appeared to be out.

WOODS SORRY FOR BEHAVIOUR

Woodshas apologised for his driving under the influence arrest, insisting that alcohol was not involved in the late-night incident.

In a statement sent to USA Today, Woods, who was pulled over by police in Florida in the early hours of Monday, blamed the incident on a bad reaction to prescription medication.

“I understand the severity of what I did and I take full responsibility for my actions,” Woods said in the statement. “I want the public to know that alcohol was not involved.

“What happened was an unexpected reaction to prescribed medications. I didn’t realise the mix of medications had affected me so strongly.

“I would like to apologise with all my heart to my family, friends and the fans. I expect more from myself too.”

The golfing superstar faces losing a big chunk of his $ 62 million a year sponsorship over the incident.

His current girlfriend Kristin Smith reacted to Woods latest dramas by bursting into tears and saying: “I knew it, I knew it,” according to TMZ.

Dashcam footage of the incident is expected to be released by authorities.

Smith reportedly found out about the incident while shopping at a Neiman Marcus store in Dallas.

Tiger Woods’ girlfriend Kristen Smith. Picture: InstagramSource:Supplied

She is said to have spent $ 6723 in the store after crying and then left.

Woods, who lives on Jupiter Island, was arrested around 3am after police saw him driving a 2015 Mercedes “erratically, all over the road,” law enforcement sources told TMZ.

Smelling alcohol on Woods’ breath, an officer asked the golfer, who was acting “arrogant,” to take a Breathalyzer test, but he refused, the site reported.

A mugshot released by the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office shows a haggard-looking, unshaven Woods staring vacantly at the camera with ruffled hair.

Woods, 41, was pulled over as he drove south on Military Trail, Jupiter police spokeswoman Kristin Rightler told the Palm Beach Post.

Police did not say if there was anyone else in Woods’ car, which was travelling in the opposite direction of his home, the paper reported.

Rightler said she did not know what testing Woods underwent at the scene or in the lockup.

One of Woods’ ex-mistress Cori Rist told the New York Post, she felt sorry for him.

“I saw the news, I only feel compassion for the guy. I think he’s a good person, and it’s kind of sad,” Rist told the publication.

Cori Rist says she feels ‘sorry’ for Tiger Woods. Picture: APSource:AP

The lingerie model was one of many women Woods had affairs with in the late 2000s that brought an end to his marriage.

Rist, who came clean about her affair with Woods after his then-wife Elin Nordegren chased him out of their Florida mansion Thanksgiving night in 2009, has said she met the golfer at a nightclub in 2006 and slept with him for about six months.

When asked if he ever had a problem with drugs or alcohol while they were seeing each other, she replied Monday, “No, never.”

Rist said Woods needs support at a time like this.

“I think he’s a good person, and clearly he’s a good father, and he’s going through a difficult time, and I think people should offer support instead of applauding his downfall,” Rist said.

“I just wish him the best, and I hope to see a good outcome from all of this, and I think he’ll be OK.”

Tiger Woods watches his tee shot on the third hole during the final round at the Hero World Challenge golf tournament in Nassau, Bahamas.Source:AP

WOODS BESET BY DRAMAS

The arrest is another blow for one of sport’s greatest icons, who in recent years has struggled with his form, a recurring back injury and significant personal troubles.

Woods’ very public transformation from the highest paid athlete in the world to downcast former-great started in 2009 with the breakup of his marriage to then-wife Elin Nordegren.

In a series of sensational developments, Woods first crashed his family Caddillac SUV into a fire hydrant and neighbour’s home in Florida. Shortly afterwards it emerged Nordegren, his wife of five years and mother of his two young children, had attacked him and chased him out of their home with a golf club after learning of a series of infidelities.

Strippers came forward with tabloid tell-alls about their wild nights with the formerly clean-cut and highly bankable star, and after a month of headlines spent in seclusion Woods revealed he was stepping out of competition and public life.

“I am deeply aware of the disappointment and hurt that my infidelity has caused to so many people, most of all my wife and children,” Woods said on his website in December 2009.

“What’s most important now is that my family has the time, privacy, and safe haven we will need for personal healing. After much soul searching, I have decided to take an indefinite break from professional golf. I need to focus my attention on being a better husband, father, and person.”

Woods’ marriage did not survive the scandal, with the couple divorcing in 2010, and his form has never fully recovered.

In recent years Woods’ attempts at a comeback have been hampered by recurring back problems, and he endured fusion surgery on his spine — his fourth such operation since 2014 — just over a month ago.

Woods said the operation gave him “instant nerve relief” and that his “long-term prognosis is positive” for him to return to golf.

“I haven’t felt this good in years,” he wrote in his blog.

Tiger Woods with his ex-wife Elin Nordegren.Source:AFP

“It’s just a matter of not screwing up and letting it fuse. I’m walking and doing my exercises, and taking my kids to and from school. All I can do is take it day by day. There’s no hurry.”

Having only attempted three international competitions in the past two years, Woods was forced to pull out of the Masters earlier this year on the 20th anniversary of his first major win.

Woods was arrested early Monday about 10 minutes drive from his restaurant The Woods, which he opened in 2015. He was driving in the opposite direction to his $ 110 million waterfront home in Jupiter.

A police charge sheet revealed he was booked into the County Jail at 7am — just under four hours after he was pulled over — and released on his own recognisance at 10.50am local time.

He was booked with DUI-unlawful blood alcohol/DUI, which could refer to either alcohol or drugs.

A police spokesperson would not comment on what testing had been done at the police station and whether or not Woods was alone in his car at the time.

Originally published as Tiger Woods failed four sobriety tests

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