The media spent a week telling you Tiger Woods might not be allowed to drive a golf cart.
They were wrong.
And Ron DeSantis corrected the national press corps on a basic fact about Florida law that any prosecutor could have explained in thirty seconds.
What Actually Happened in That Martin County Courtroom
Tiger Woods appeared before Judge Darren Steele this week and took a plea deal.
The DUI charge from his March rollover crash on Jupiter Island got reduced to reckless driving.
He pleaded no contest to refusing the chemical test, caught a careless driving citation, and paid a $1,500 fine.
Judge Steele suspended his driver's license for five years.
Then the judge drew a line no one could misread.
"There are no exceptions," Steele warned him. "If you were to drive for any reason at all, you would immediately go back to jail."
https://twitter.com/Curi0nic/status/2095234946243694762?s=20
Woods' manager, Mark Steinberg, said afterward that Tiger "surrendered his license for the next five years" and is continuing his treatment.
The prosecutor, Thomas Bakkedahl, defended the deal on the merits – toxicologists found insufficient proof of impairment given Woods' documented prescription opioid use and years of tolerance from managing chronic pain, and the breathalyzer came back clean.
"I did what I think is right," Bakkedahl said.
The Media Made a Simple Story Into a Fake Crisis
Here's where reporters earned their reputation.
Florida law classifies golf carts as motor vehicles.
Someone in a newsroom looked at that definition, looked at the five-year suspension, and published the obvious-sounding conclusion – Tiger Woods, the greatest golfer alive, might not be legally allowed to operate a golf cart on a golf course.
That story ran everywhere.
It was wrong.
Under Florida law, adults 18 and older don't need a driver's license to operate a golf cart – on a course or in designated public areas.
Prosecutor Bakkedahl already said this clearly.
Because no license is required to drive a cart in the first place, suspending Woods' license changes nothing about the cart.
DeSantis stepped in Tuesday night and said exactly that.
"Tiger should be able to drive a golf cart on the golf course," the governor posted on X.
https://twitter.com/RonDeSantis/status/2095201112601043391?s=20
He followed up: "People that lose their license aren't typically barred from driving a golf cart on a golf course."
A Florida governor spent time correcting a basic legal error that a first-year law student could have caught.
That's where we are with the national media in 2026.
This Is Tiger's Second Time Through This System
Golf fans who've been watching Woods for thirty years know this isn't his first run-in with Florida law enforcement.
In May 2017, deputies found him passed out in his Mercedes in Palm Beach Gardens – prescription drugs and marijuana in his system, no alcohol.
He pleaded guilty to reckless driving, entered a diversion program, paid $250, and completed 50 hours of community service.
No license suspension.
This time the deal came with five years.
The difference is the crash.
In 2017, no collision – just a car parked on the side of a road with Tiger asleep at the wheel.
In 2026, his Land Rover clipped a pressure-cleaning truck on a residential street, rolled onto its side, and the sheriff's office released photos of the wreckage.
Woods crawled out through the passenger door.
It wasn't a fender-bender.
Judge Steele drew the harder line for a reason, and the plea deal still kept Woods out of jail.
What the Media Got Wrong Matters for Tiger's Career
Woods turned 50 in December.
His body has been through several surgeries – back, Achilles, ankle, and the leg injuries from a 2021 California crash that nearly cost him his right leg.
Walking 72 holes is a different challenge than it was when he was winning 15 majors.
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He was targeting a run on the PGA Tour Champions – the senior circuit where carts are permitted – and the US Senior Open was on the table.
The golf cart isn't a luxury for a man in his condition.
It's the difference between competing and not competing.
When reporters built a legal crisis out of a definition they misread, they weren't just getting a fact wrong.
They were running a story with real stakes attached to it.
DeSantis corrected the record.
Common sense won.
The press corps moved on without an apology or a correction.
Same as always.
Sources:
- Martin County Sheriff's Office, press conference statement, March 27, 2026.
- Reuters, "Tiger Woods out on bail after arrest on suspicion of DUI," Arab News, March 27, 2026.
- NBC News, "Tiger Woods arrested for suspicion of DUI in rollover crash in Florida, sheriff says," March 27, 2026.
- Sneha Mary Abraham, "Florida Governor Backs Tiger Woods' Right to Drive a Golf Cart After 5-Year Ban," EssentiallySports, September 2, 2026.
