Tiger Woods charged with driving under influence

The 14-time major champion was booked into the Palm Beach County jail at 7:18 am (1118 GMT) after he was arrested by police in the early hours of Monday near his home in Jupiter, Florida.

He was released at 10:50 am according to police records, with a mugshot posted online showing the golfer looking bleary-eyed and unshaven.

Woods was arrested during a traffic stop around 3 am, Kristin Rightler, public information officer of the Jupiter Police Department said.

It was not immediately clear if the DUI charge related to alcohol or drugs.

The TMZ.com entertainment news website cited law enforcement sources as saying that Woods was stopped after being spotted "driving erratically, all over the road."

The website said officers smelt alcohol on Woods' breath but the golfer refused to blow into a breathalyzer.

The arrest is the latest gloomy episode to embroil Woods, who once towered over his sport before being engulfed by turmoil in his private life and a series of debilitating injuries.

Woods, 41, hasn't played competitive golf since pulling out of the Dubai Desert Classic in February after one round because of back pain.

He had spinal fusion surgery on April 20 -- his fourth surgery in three years to treat his troublesome back which has limited him to three tournament starts worldwide in the past two years.

- Personal life torment -

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Woods wrote on his website last week that since his latest procedure he was feeling better than he had in years and remained committed to returning to competitive golf.

"My surgeon and physiotherapist say the operation was successful. It's just a matter of not screwing up and letting it fuse," Woods wrote.

"I'm walking and doing my exercises, and taking my kids to and from school. All I can do is take it day by day. There's no hurry. But, I want to say unequivocally, I want to play professional golf again."

Woods made his comeback in December after missing all of the 2015-16 season.

But his return quickly ran aground as he withdrew from the PGA Tour event in Los Angeles in February, the Honda Classic and the Arnold Palmer Invitational in March.

He even cancelled a planned press conference at the Los Angeles tournament saying doctors had advised him to "limit all activities".

He pulled out of the Masters in early April, missing the first major of the year on the 20th anniversary of his epic 1997 victory at Augusta National that marked his first major title and signalled a new era in the game.

Woods, once widely expected to surpass Jack Nicklaus's record of 18 major championships, hasn't won a grand slam title since the 2008 US Open at Torrey Pines.

Injuries haven't been the only disruptions to his on-course career.

In November of 2009 a car accident outside his Florida home led to revelations of a series of infidelities that wrecked his marriage. He later went to rehabilitation after the accident, reportedly for sex addiction.

Amid the lurid tabloid headlines, Woods took a break from professional golf that lasted until the 2010 Masters.

Woods chances of overhauling Nicklaus's tally of 18 majors look remote. He has not featured in a major since the 2015 PGA Championship, when he missed the cut. He also missed the cut in that year's British and US Opens.

Tiger Woods Timeline

-- August 1996: Turns pro after an outstanding amateur career and is named as the PGA Rookie of the Year.

-- April 1997: Wins the first of 14 majors at the Masters, becoming at 21 the youngest-ever winner at Augusta National. Two months later he takes the world number one spot for the first time.

-- June 2000: wins US Open at Pebble Beach by a record 15 strokes and then becomes the the fifth player in history to complete the career Grand Slam by winning the British Open by eight strokes at St Andrews.

-- April 2001: Wins his second Masters title and completes the "Tiger Slam" as the first golfer to be reigning champion of all four majors simultaneously.

-- April 2002: Successfully defends his Masters crown and in June he goes on to win his second US Open at Bethpage Black. That makes him the youngest golfer in history to win seven majors.

-- September 2004: After failing to win another major in 2003 and 2004 Vijay Singh replaces him as world number one after a record run of 264 weeks on top.

-- April 2005: Woods emerges from "slump" to win a fourth Masters, defeating Chris DiMarco in a playoff. He then wins a second British Open by five strokes at St Andrews. With his 10th major title he joins Jack Nicklaus in being the only players to win all four major tournaments at least twice.

-- May, 2006: His father and guiding force Earl dies at 74, but the following month Woods wins his third British Open and 11th major at Hoylake

-- June 2008: Two months after knee surgery wins the US Open for his 14th, and to date, last major at Torrey Pines, defeating Rocco Mediate in a sudden death playoff. He promptly announces that he needs more knee surgery and takes the rest of the season off.

-- February 2009: Nine months later he returns to action, but in November of that year a car accident outside his Florida home unearths a series of infidelities that wrecks his marriage. Takes an "indefinite break from professional golf" to get his life back together.

-- April 2010: Returns to action at the Masters where he finishes fourth but the injuries mount over the course of the year and his ranking starts to tumble.

-- March 2013: Woods regains his form in 2012 and the following year his eighth win in the Arnold Palmer Invitational sees him regain the world number one spot.

-- March 2014: After a slow start to 2014, Woods injures himself during the Honda Classic and he subsequently skips the Masters for the first time to undergo back surgery. Loses world number one spot to Adam Scott in May.

-- February 2015: Struggles to get his season going and after pulling out injured from a tournament at Torrey Pines says he will take another break from competition.

-- September/October 2015: Woods has microdiscectomy to remove spinal disc fragement pinching a nerve, with follow-up procedure to relieve lingering discomfort.

-- February 2017: Back spasms prompt Woods to withdraw from second round of Dubai Desert Classic, cutting short his return from a 16-month injury layoff.

-- April 2017: After missing the Masters, Woods announces he had yet another surgery to alleviate pain in his back and leg.

-- May 2017: Woods arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence in Jupiter, Florida.