The 15-time major champion flew into Palm Beach on Wednesday after six weeks of treatment in Switzer
Tiger Woods returned to Florida on Wednesday, landing at Palm Beach International Airport approximately six weeks after a judge permitted him to seek treatment abroad following his arrest on suspicion of driving under the influence. TMZ photographed the 50-year-old disembarking from his private jet, marking his first confirmed return to the United States since he left for what sources indicated was a treatment facility in Switzerland.
The arrest and what investigators found
Woods was arrested on March 27 after his vehicle clipped a truck pulling a trailer and flipped on a residential road in Florida while he was attempting to overtake. Authorities determined Woods had not been drinking alcohol, but their assessment was that he appeared impaired at the time of the incident. Woods told police he had been looking at his phone when the crash occurred.
Two pills containing hydrocodone, an opioid painkiller, were found in his pocket. He refused a urine analysis, was charged, jailed, and subsequently released on bond. He pleaded not guilty to the DUI charge.
Woods sought treatment overseas after the DUI charge
Following the arrest, Woods released a statement saying he was stepping away to seek treatment and focus on his health. A Florida judge granted him permission to do so abroad, and he departed for Switzerland, where he was believed to be receiving care at a private facility. The six-week absence covered a period that included the Masters Tournament at Augusta National, where Woods is a five-time champion and had previously hinted at a possible appearance. He did not attend.
His withdrawal from public life extended beyond Augusta. The PGA of America confirmed during that period that Woods had also removed himself from consideration for the captaincy of the 2027 U.S. Ryder Cup team, a role that had been widely discussed as a natural next chapter for him given his stature in the sport.
Woods and the legal proceedings ahead
On Tuesday, a Florida judge ruled that Woods’s prescription drug records would be made available to prosecutors handling the DUI case. The judge also ordered that those records remain shielded from public view for privacy reasons and would not be accessible through Florida’s open records law. The ruling represents a meaningful development in the case, giving prosecutors access to medical documentation that could bear directly on the impairment question at the center of the charges.
Woods has a documented medical history that includes multiple back surgeries and extensive rehabilitation following a severe car crash in California in 2021 that left him with significant leg injuries. That history is relevant to understanding his ongoing use of prescription medication and will likely factor into how his legal team approaches the DUI case going forward.
Woods and the Ryder Cup conversation
Jim Furyk, who was awarded the 2027 U.S. Ryder Cup captaincy after Woods stepped aside, addressed the situation this week at the PGA Championship at Aronimink. Furyk said Woods could still have a role with the team, with an advisory position mentioned as one possibility. He noted that he had not yet spoken directly with Woods about what that involvement might look like.
The PGA Championship is currently underway at Aronimink Golf Club in Pennsylvania, proceeding without Woods for the second consecutive major of the year. His return to Florida this week does not come with any announced timeline for a return to competition or a scheduled court appearance, though the case is active and the legal process is continuing.
For now, Woods is home. What comes next, on the course and in court, remains open.