Tiger Woods claims he was 'talking to the president' when he crashed and rolled

After crashing his SUV last week in Florida, Tiger Woods took out his phone and told a deputy, "I was just talking to the president," according to body camera footage showing Woods' arrest on a DUI charge.

The phone conversation was not captured on video, but Woods could be heard saying, "Thank you so much," as he hung up and the deputy approached. It wasn't clear if Woods was referring to President Donald Trump, whose former daughter-in-law, Vanessa Trump, is dating Woods.

Shortly after the golfer's arrest last week, Trump was asked about Woods and told reporters: "I feel so badly. He's got some difficulty. Very close friend of mine. He's an amazing person. Amazing man. But, some difficulty."

READ MORE: Foran's surprise admission after 'whirlwind week' at Manly

READ MORE: Wounded Magpies dealt brutal reality check in Easter smashing

READ MORE: 'Don't believe everything': Kerr throws ice on US claims

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether Trump spoke to Woods after the crash.

Woods told authorities he was looking at his phone and changing the radio station when his speeding Land Rover clipped the back of a truck and rolled onto its side on a residential road on Jupiter Island. No one was injured.

The footage also shows how Woods appeared to be astonished as he was handcuffed after failing a sobriety test and a video from the back of the patrol car shows the handcuffed golfer hiccupping, yawning and repeatedly appearing to nod off during the 15-minute ride.

“I do believe your normal faculties are impaired, and you’re under an unknown substance, so at this time you’re under arrest for DUI,” Martin County Sheriff’s Deputy Tatiana Levenar told Woods after conducting a sobriety test on him.

“I’m being arrested?” Woods responded as he stood alongside the road.

“Yes sir,” Levenar said.

After handcuffing Woods, authorities searched his pockets and found two white pills.

“That’s a Norco,” Woods said after an officer pulled out the pills, referring to a painkiller that contains acetaminophen and the opioid hydrocodone. Authorities would later confirm that Woods was in possession of hydrocodone.

In the bodycam footage, Woods told Levenar that he had not drunk any alcohol and that he had taken “a few” medications earlier in the day, though Woods’ words are muted in the released video as he describes some of the drugs.

“I looked down at my phone, and all of a sudden — boom,” Woods told deputies as he knelt on a lawn, prior to his arrest.

Woods, 50, pleaded not guilty on to suspicion of driving under the influence. He later posted a statement night saying that he was stepping away indefinitely “to seek treatment and focus on my health.”

During a field sobriety test, deputies noticed Woods limping and that he had a compression sock over his right knee. Woods explained he had undergone seven back surgeries and over 20 surgeries on his right leg, and that his ankle seizes up while walking.

Woods, who was hiccuping during questioning, continuously moved his head during one of the sobriety tests and deputies had to tell him several times to keep his head straight, an arrest report said.

“Based on my observations of Woods, how he performed the exercises and based on my training, knowledge, and experience, I believed that Woods normal faculties were impaired, and he was unable to safely operate the motor vehicle,” Levenar wrote.

Woods is the most influential figure in golf and has become as recognizable as any athlete in the world. The first person of Black heritage to win the Masters in 1997, he has captivated golf fans with records likely never to be broken.

But his injuries have kept him from accomplishing more, including those suffered in a 2021 Los Angeles car crash that damaged his right leg so badly he said doctors considered amputation.

He has not played an official event since the 2024 British Open. He was recovering from a seventh back surgery in October and was trying to return at the Masters, where he is a five-time champion.

Following last week's crash, Woods agreed to a Breathalyser test that showed no signs of alcohol, but he refused a urine test, authorities said. He was arrested and released on bail eight hours later.

Under a change to Florida law last year, refusing an officer’s request to take a breath, blood or urine test became a misdemeanor, even for a first offence.