Sir Nick Faldo has called on Tiger Woods to be made accountable for his ‘self-inflicted’ actions, following his decision to step away from the sport after another car crash.
Woods was charged with driving under the influence (DUI) after being involved in a car crash in Florida on March 27, where he admitted to looking at his phone as his speeding Land Rover clipped the back of a truck and rolled onto its side.
A sheriff’s officer report described Woods’ eyes as ‘bloodshot and glassy’, his pupils dilated and hydrocodone pills – used to treat severe pain – in his pocket at the scene, while body camera footage – released on April 2 – showed him arrested at the roadside.
Tiger Woods stands by his overturned vehicle after his crash on March 27
Woods has entered a not guilty plea, taking the case to a jury trial, although has since announced his decision to be “stepping away” from golf for a “period of time” to seek treatment and focus on his health.
The 50-year-old was found asleep at the wheel during his DUI arrest in 2017 and needed to be cut from the wreckage during a serious accident four years later, with Faldo insisting Woods’ repeated behaviour should result in consequences.
“Compare it to other sports or businesses and what have you – if you were done for DUI a couple of times in your business, what would happen to you?” Faldo questioned in a media call ahead of The Masters, live from Thursday on Sky Sports.
“I’ve got a feeling that, if he disappears and comes back in a couple of months, everything will carry on as normal [as happened in 2017]. I’m not sure if that’s right – that’s not a good message to the kids of today, is it?
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“I would have thought the PGA Tour, behind closed doors, must be very disappointed that they pay Tiger tens of millions to be on the golf course and work off the golf course with this business role [chairman of the Future Competition Committee] he has got.
“They’re not going to get much [from Woods] on the golf course. He has only finished nine tournaments in the last five years and yet they think that he’s the future on the golf course and the future in the decision-making. They must say ‘boy, what do we get out of that?’
“It’s for the official bodies to decide but you would have thought, in a normal walk of life, there is some accountability for doing that, isn’t there?”
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‘Serious issue’ for Woods
Woods has not featured in a major or PGA Tour event since July 2024 but had been pushing to make a competitive comeback at The Masters, although is no longer to appear at Augusta National – in any capacity – for the opening major of the year.
The PGA Tour issued a statement shortly after Woods’ announcement to pay tribute to ‘a legend of our sport’ and explain that their focus ‘is on his health and well-being’, while their CEO Brian Rolapp said the five-time Masters champion has his ‘full respect and support’.
A Martin County judge approved a motion for Woods to travel to an “out of country treatment facility”, with the request made – according to court filings – because he needs a “level of care that cannot safely or effectively be done in the United States, as his privacy has been repeatedly compromised.”
“I feel sorry for Tiger that he’s living in 24/7 pain,” Faldo added. “I asked him that years ago, even before the Los Angeles accident (2021), but it has all been self-inflicted.
Woods won the last of his 82 PGA Tour titles at the 2019 Zozo Championship
“There are two sides to this right now. There’s one side that’s like ‘well, let’s care for Tiger’, but then there’s got to be a responsibility and accountability side as well. This is a serious issue he’s done.
“The PGA Tour statement was so predictably weak. They showed that the [PGA] Tour will look after him, as they always have done, but then there has to be some accountability to take.
“The world is divided quite a bit but the bottom line is, but this is a serious issue.
“I think something should be done a little bit more serious than waving him off to a tropical island [for treatment] and saying ‘welcome back in three or four months’, whatever it might be.”
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