Tiger Woods Set to Change Not-Guilty Plea in DUI Case After Florida Rollover Crash
· Yahoo Sports
Tiger Woods is heading back to a Florida courtroom with a significant change coming in the DUI case that followed his March rollover crash.
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The 50-year-old golfer is scheduled to appear in person before Martin County Judge Darren Steele at 8:30 a.m. ET on Sept. 2 for a change-of-plea hearing. His attorney, Douglas Duncan, filed the request on Sept. 1, according to Reuters.
What Woods intends to say in court remains unknown. He originally pleaded not guilty to misdemeanor charges of DUI with property damage and refusal to submit to a lawful test, but neither the filing nor current reporting identifies the new plea or confirms that his legal team has reached an agreement with prosecutors.
The hearing brings the case back into focus five months after Woods' Land Rover clipped a pressure-cleaning trailer on Jupiter Island and rolled onto its driver's side. No one was injured, but deputies arrested Woods after reporting signs of impairment and finding two hydrocodone pills in his pocket.
The Filing Does Not Reveal What Woods Will Plead
Court records show Woods is preparing to change his existing not-guilty plea, but they do not disclose what will replace it. Entertainment Weekly reported that Duncan did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the filing. The State Attorney's Office also had not publicly announced a plea agreement.
The court docket calls Wednesday's proceeding a “change of plea,” while Duncan described it as a “plea conference.” Woods is required to appear in person for the hearing before Steele.
Duncan had previously requested a jury trial after Woods entered his not-guilty plea. Tuesday's new filing indicates that the case may now be moving in a different direction, but that direction will not be established until Woods appears and the court hears his plea.
The Case Began With a March 27 Rollover Crash
Woods was driving on South Beach Road on Jupiter Island on March 27 when authorities say he approached a truck towing pressure-cleaning equipment at high speed as it slowed to turn into a driveway. His Land Rover attempted to pass and clipped the rear of the trailer before rolling onto its driver's side.
Woods crawled out through the passenger side without suffering an injury. According to the arrest report, he told deputies that he had been looking down at his phone and changing the radio and did not realize the vehicle ahead had slowed.
Deputies described Woods as lethargic and slow, with bloodshot, glassy eyes, extremely dilated pupils and heavy sweating. Woods denied drinking alcohol, and a Breathalyzer registered 0.00. He told authorities that he had taken prescription medication, while two pills found in his pocket were later identified as hydrocodone.
After he was taken to jail, Woods refused to provide a urine sample. He was charged with DUI with property damage and refusal to submit to a lawful test, both misdemeanor allegations that he initially denied through his not-guilty plea.
Prosecutors Obtained Access to Prescription and Hospital Records
The case continued developing while Woods was away from competition. In May, Steele authorized prosecutors to obtain Woods' prescription-medication records from a Palm Beach pharmacy covering the beginning of 2026 through the date of the crash.
A separate agreement later allowed prosecutors to request records from Cleveland Clinic Martin South Hospital connected to Woods' March 27 treatment. Those records could include relevant statements about alcohol or chemical substances and drug-screening results.
The records were not opened to the general public. Protective orders limited their disclosure to the prosecution, law enforcement, designated experts and Woods' defense team, according to CBS News and The Associated Press.
The court also permitted Woods to leave the United States for inpatient treatment. In a March 31 statement, he said he understood the seriousness of the situation and was stepping away from professional golf to focus on his health and work toward “lasting recovery.”
Woods Has Made Public Appearances but Not Returned to PGA Tour Competition
Woods resurfaced publicly in June at the Travelers Championship, where he took part in the PGA Tour's announcement of a major competitive restructuring scheduled to begin in 2028. He did not use the appearance to discuss the pending criminal case.
He has not returned to official PGA Tour competition since entering treatment. His playing career had already been heavily limited by injuries and surgeries before the March crash, including the lasting effects of the serious 2021 rollover accident in Southern California.
The current case is also separate from Woods' 2017 Florida DUI arrest. In that case, officers found him asleep behind the wheel, and toxicology testing detected prescription medications and marijuana but no alcohol. Woods ultimately pleaded guilty to reckless driving under a diversion agreement that resolved the DUI charge.