Sir Nick Faldo has called for Tiger Woods to take responsibility for his “self-inflicted” actions after he decided to retire from the sport following another car crash.
Woods was charged with DUI after being involved in a car accident in Florida on March 27, and admitted he was looking at his cell phone when his speeding Land Rover clipped the back of a truck and overturned.
A sheriff’s report said Woods’ eyes were “bloodshot and glassy,” his pupils dilated, and he had hydrocodone pills, used to treat severe pain, in his pocket at the scene, while body camera footage released April 2 showed Woods being arrested on the side of the road.
Tiger Woods stands next to his overturned car after the March 27 accident.
Woods pleaded not guilty and took the case to a jury trial, but then announced his decision to take a “period of time away” from golf to undergo treatment and focus on his health.
Woods, 50, was caught drowsy at the wheel during a drink-driving arrest in 2017 and had to be cut from the wreckage following a serious crash four years later, but Fuld insisted Woods’ repeated actions should have consequences.
“Compare it to other sports and businesses. If you get fired a few times in your business for drink-driving, what happens to you?” Faldo was asked on a media conference call ahead of the Masters, which will be broadcast live on Sky Sports from Thursday.
“I feel like if he disappeared and came back a few months later, everything would continue as normal (as happened in 2017). I don’t know if that’s right. That’s not a good message for kids right now, right?”
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Golf Channel analyst and former professional golfer Brandel Chamblee says Tiger Woods’ decision to retire and seek help could signal a powerful new role.
“You would have thought the PGA Tour must be very disappointed behind closed doors that Tiger is on the golf course and is paying tens of millions to get this business role (chairman of the Future Competitions Committee) off the golf course.
“They’re not going to get much out of (Woods) on the golf course. He’s only finished nine tournaments in the last five years, but they still think he’s the future of the golf course and the future of decision-making. I’m sure they’ll say, ‘Hey, what can we get out of that?’
“It is a public institution that decides that, but if you live a normal life, you would think that there is a certain degree of responsibility in doing so, right?”
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Sky Sports’ Rich Beam reacts to Tiger Woods’ decision to exclude himself from captaining Team USA at the next Ryder Cup
‘Serious problem’ for Woods
Woods has not played in a major or PGA Tour tournament since July 2024, and although he was aiming to return to competitive action at the Masters, he will not appear in any capacity at Augusta National, the opening major of the year.
The PGA Tour issued a statement shortly after Woods’ announcement, paying tribute to a “legend in our sport” and saying it was “focused on his health and well-being,” while CEO Brian Rolup said the five-time Masters winner had “full respect and support.”
A Martin County judge approved Woods’ motion to travel to a “foreign treatment facility,” saying he requires “a level of care that cannot be safely or effectively provided in the United States due to repeated violations of his privacy,” according to a court filing.
“It’s unfortunate that Tiger is living in constant pain,” Fuld added. “I asked him that many years ago, even before the Los Angeles accident (2021) happened, and it was all self-inflicted.
Woods won the last of his 82 PGA Tour titles at the 2019 ZOZO Championship
“There are two sides to this now. There’s the side of, ‘Well, let’s take care of Tiger,’ but there’s also the responsibility and accountability side. This is a serious problem that he did.”
“The statement from the PGA Tour was very weak, as expected. The (PGA) Tour indicated they were going to take care of him as they always have, but then there has to be some accountability.”
“The world is very divided, but at the end of the day, this is a serious issue.
“Whatever it is, I think we should do something a little more serious than sending him to a tropical island[for treatment]and saying, ‘Come back in three or four months.’
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