Dave Hyde: You root for Tiger Woods, at 50, to find his way
The name of Tiger Woods’ organization that helps kids is the TGR Foundation, and it has a mandate to offer educational programs and learning labs so students can “find and follow their passions on their path to a brighter future,’’ its website says. The phone just rang at one of its offices Tuesday, and rang, at a time its founder needs help finding that brighter future. And let’s be clear: If you rooted for Woods as a golf legend in his youth, you root for him now, at 50, when he’s having trouble just navigating the road in front of him to the point someone should take away his car keys.
That’s where any help for Woods should start. His family and friends shouldn’t let him drive again, even if he legally is allowed. Not until his problems are solved, his demons gone.
No one knows the extent of his problem with prescription pills, only that it’s a repeated part of these accidents. The officer at the scene of his accident last week reported Woods appeared under the influence of something and prescription opioids were found in his pocket, according to police records released on Tuesday. The significant news — after he swerved in the road, rolled his Land Rover on its side on Jupiter Island and had to be helped from the car — is he walked away.
The driver in front of him whose truck was damaged by Woods’ driving also walked away. So a bad story wasn’t a tragic one. Just like in 2021 when Woods rolled his SUV while driving more than 80 mph and suffered severe leg injuries that required surgery.
Just like in 2017 when he was found asleep at the wheel in Jupiter at 3 a. m. , stopped in a traffic lane with his Mercedes-Benz running and multiple prescription drugs in his system, according to toxicology reports.