In case you didn’t already know, Tiger Woods is golf. Half a decade on from his last major win, and nearly two decades since he was at the peak of his considerable powers, he remains the best-known golfer on the planet and without fail the only one that most people who have no clue about the sport could name if asked.
For years, he completely dominated the game and gave us some of the best sporting moments of all time, including an infamous chip in at the 2005 Masters (one of golf’s four “majors.”) For much of his early career, the famous American had a squeaky-clean image to go alongside his immaculate game, and in that time, he became one of the highest-earning sportspeople in the world, even managing to find himself the face of Nike despite playing a sport that the vast majority of the world had no interest in.
However, underneath the surface, all wasn’t well. A series of unfortunate events soon led to the truth unspooling: that Woods was a near pathological womanizer who loved to party. Now, in the grand scheme of things (and in a post-Me Too world), his improprieties are kind of quaint. After all, cheating on your wife, while a big flaw and scummy behavior, isn’t quite the same as Sam Levinson being incredibly creepy around his teenage cast or the horrors that Harvey Weinstein put countless women through.
There’s also the fact that Woods had been hyper-focused on golf since he was able to walk, thus not allowing him the opportunity to live a normal life. However, a controversy is still a controversy, even if there seems to be extenuating circumstances. In fact, for the All-American hero Woods, these scandals were damaging in a way that nothing previously had been for him. They also came after injuries began to dog his game and caused a waning in his once imperious powers.
Now Woods is back in the news, as he recently made the cut at the Masters for a record 24th time in a row. He’s no longer the dominating force he once was, but on the bright side, also appears to have cut down on the party boy antics. His controversies, however, will remain a part of his record. If you want to find out more about all the naughty things the best golfer of all time got up to over the years, read on to find out about Tiger’s biggest controversies.
The car crash that started it all
In Nov. 2009, in the early hours of the morning, police were called out to near Woods’ home after the golfer’s Cadillac hit a fire hydrant, several hedges, and a tree. The golfer was treated for some cuts to the face, given a talking to after it was confirmed that he wasn’t wearing his seatbelt, and received a ticket for reckless driving. A few days prior, the National Enquirer had published a story alleging that Woods had been cheating on his then wife, Elin Nordegren. It has never been fully confirmed, but many believe the crash was related to this bombshell. And our next point certainly adds weight to that theory…
The world number one (of womanizing)
Despite trying to play down the crash, Woods continued to be an object of speculation for the tabloids. In Dec. 2009, Us Weekly reported that the golfer had a mistress, which was later corroborated by the release of a voicemail Woods left the woman. He attempted some damage control by releasing a statement apologizing for his actions, but things rapidly went from bad to worse. Over the next few days, a whole football roster of women claimed they’d had affairs with him.
As a result of this, several of Woods’ sponsors ended up dropping him. These included AT&T, Gatorade, and GM. Golf Digest even suspended his monthly column. Nike, on the other hand, continued to support him, as did the game manufacturer EA. In Feb. 2010, Woods gave a statement in which he confirmed that he had gone through therapy and once more apologized to his friends and family. He went on to say:
“I thought I could get away with whatever I wanted to. I felt that I had worked hard my entire life and deserved to enjoy all the temptations around me. I felt I was entitled. Thanks to money and fame, I didn’t have to go far to find them. I was wrong. I was foolish.”
Driving under the influence
Woods has always been an attack-minded and aggressive golfer, and the sheer power of his swing (plus years of playing golf to a high level) eventually led to the degradation of his body. As a result, he suffered through a number of injuries ⏤ which, as all Americans will know, means a truckload of pills were prescribed to him. In May 2017, the golfer was arrested in the early hours of the morning for driving under the influence. He was found sleeping in his car, which was stationary in a traffic lane. The engine was still running. Woods gave the excuse that he had taken prescription drugs but had been unaware of how they would react together, hence the averse outcome.
In the summer of 2017, he submitted a not guilty plea in court and agreed to take part in a program for those who had been caught driving under the influence for the first time. Another arraignment was organized for October of that year in which Woods pleaded guilty to reckless driving. He was fined $250, ordered to complete 50 hours of community service, and received a year of probation. He was also forced to take regular drug tests and banned from drinking alcohol during his probation period.
Yet another car crash
In 2021, Woods was in a horrendous rollover car crash, which was said to be caused by him driving at 80 mph, nearly twice the speed limit of the road he was on. No charges were filed, but he did suffer some damaging leg injuries that kept him away from golf for several months.
Tampongate
In 2023, Woods found himself in hot water on social media (but not in real life) for playing what he described as a “prank” on fellow golfer Justin Thomas. The former world number one handed Thomas a tampon after hitting a longer shot than his younger counterpart, a poor taste joke with sexist connotations. He later said, “If I offended anyone in any shape or form, I’m sorry. It was friends having fun. We play pranks on one another all the time.”