We have not seen him play competitive golf outdoors since the Open Championship of July 2024, his only action a nine-shot cameo in this week’s TGL indoor simulator finals.
Of late, Woods’ primary influence has been off the course, chairing the PGA Tour’s Future Competitions Committee.
It is a relatively recent appointment, but for the best part of five years he has been at the forefront of shaping the tour’s response to the arrival of the breakaway LIV Golf circuit.
He was too busy to take America’s Ryder Cup captaincy last year and is currently weighing up whether to accept the job for the 2027 match at Adare Manor in Ireland.
But such roles, returning to action (he has registered for June’s US Senior Open) and indeed any public-facing activities have been upended in the way his Range Rover flipped on to its side on Friday afternoon.
Police officers are analysing skid marks on Jupiter Island’s 30mph South Beach Road to gauge the speed of the 82-time tour winner’s car while attempting his ill-fated overtake manoeuvre.
Prosecutors are looking to build their case on three charges: driving under influence (despite passing a breathalyser test for alcohol), refusing to give a urine sample and damage to property.
Regardless of whether he is able to play at the Masters, Woods was expected to be in Georgia for the unveiling of The Patch – a revamped public golf course he has worked on with the Augusta National club. He was also looking forward to Rory McIlroy’s champion’s dinner on the Tuesday night.
Instead, talk shows across America and beyond are into overdrive on a far less wholesome agenda, speculating about the turbulent life of this elite sportsman – someone who has enjoyed and endured more extreme highs and lows than pretty much any other.
Trying to play the Masters, trying to hit a ball 300 yards, escaping from the sand, holing a delicate three-footer or trying to mastermind the future of men’s professional golf or captaining his country all pale in significance now.
Tiger Woods’ priorities must lie elsewhere. He is in a bunker of a different kind. Recurring road incidents had already shown a deeply troubled side to this supreme champion.
And it has happened again.
