AUGUSTA, Ga. — Tiger Woods is in pain, Gary Player says, and he doesn’t blame him for taking medication. 

But Player said he shouldn’t be driving a car. 

“When you’re taking that medicine, it’s dangerous when you’re driving a car, same as it’s dangerous when you look at your cellphone in the car,” he said. “There’s 6,000 accidents a day in motor cars.

“So I think all he’s got to do is just not drive a car and get a chauffeur. My reflexes, I think, are as good as when I was 20, but I don’t drive anymore. I get a chauffeur. I think that’s the answer to it.”

Player’s comments came Thursday morning at Augusta National, after the nine-time major winner, Jack Nicklaus and Tom Watson hit ceremonial tee shots to start this year’s Masters. On March 27, Woods was involved in a two-car crash near his home on Jupiter Island, Florida, he was arrested and he was charged with misdemeanor DUI charges, in which he has pleaded not guilty. On March 31, Woods said he was “stepping away” to seek treatment. 

The 15-time major winner had been trying to get ready to play in the Masters, which would have been his first tournament play since the 2024 Open Championship. On Thursday, Player was asked what advice he would give to Woods. 

His answer lasted over 2 minutes. 

“You know, it’s very easy, the human being is so critical of everything,” Player said. “If I or any of you in this room had the pain that Tiger Woods had — think of the excruciating pain that this man has been going through for a long time.

“I personally think, in my opinion — if I’m right or wrong, I’m sorry — but he was trying to be a Navy SEAL scout for a while. Funny enough, I had a friend who was a Navy SEAL scout. He said this long ago: He said Tiger will really suffer in the future with his back and with his legs. Look what’s happened? I think it’s 20 operations on either the back or the legs, but many, many operations on his leg and his back. So he’s in pain.

“Do I blame him for taking medicine? Hell, no. He has sleep deprivation. Do I blame him for taking something to help him sleep? No. But I don’t think he should drive a car.”

Player said his “heart goes out” to Woods.

“There’s nothing worse than living in pain every day of your life,” he said. “You can’t think of anything worse. I just hope he can get it all sorted out because he’s such an asset to golf and has done so much for the game.

“There was never — when we were young people, there were no Blacks playing the Tour, guys. I remember going to Charlie Sifford in 1957, and I said, Mr. Sifford, how did you play today? He said, I’m not allowed to play, I’m Black. So I experienced apartheid in South Africa and in America. Tiger comes along, and you realize what he does for the Black man around the world, you can never work out what he’s done for golf. So my heart goes out for him.”

Tiger Woods was arrested upon suspicion of DUI Friday afternoon following a car accident near his home in Hobe Sound, Fla., which resulted in one car rolling onto its side. The accident involved two cars, one of which Woods was driving, took place shortly after 1 p.m. and did not result in any injuries. Woods was taken to Martin County jail and will be released after eight hours, according to sheriff John Budensiek, who provided an explanation of the accident update for reporters Friday evening.

According to Budensiek, a pickup truck pulling a trailer was pulling into a driveway near 281 Beach Road in Hobe Sound and a Land Rover was moving at a “high rate of speed” to pass the pickup truck, which was slowing for the turn. The Land Rover clipped the back of the trailer and rolled onto its driver side, sliding to a halt.

“The individual driving that land rover was able to crawl out the passenger door of the car and was identified to be Mr. Tiger Woods,” Budensiek said. “Our DUI investigators came to the scene here and Mr. Woods did exemplify signs of impairment.”

After multiple roadside tests, Woods was placed under arrest and taken into county jail. He is not believed to have suffered any injuries.

Sheriff Budensiek said Woods was cooperative with authorities who believed him to not be impaired via alcohol, but rather via medication or drugs. Woods blew 0.00 on a breathalyzer test but refused a urine test. As a result of that refusal, Budensiek said, “we will never get definitive results as to what he was impaired on a the time of the crash.” Woods’ refusal of a urine test is also considered a criminal offense in Florida when arrested for DUI. Both charges are misdemeanors, according to Budensiek.

Woods was described as “lethargic” at the scene of the accident. Budensiek was unsure if Woods was wearing a seatbelt. The first responders to the scene were officers from the Jupiter Police Department, who requested the assistance of the Martin County Sheriff’s Department.

Woods has a history of traffic accidents. In May 2017, he was arrested for DUI in the early morning in Jupiter, Fla. The Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Department released a report that marked five different drugs in Woods’ system, but zero trace of alcohol. In February 2021, Woods was involved in an accident in southern California around 7 a.m. but showed “no signs of impairment,” according to local authorities. He suffered serious lower-body injuries that day, which has made it difficult for him to compete in the years since.

This post will be updated as more information is made available.

As it turns out, the only thing better than winning is winning a lot.

Tiger Woods knows how that feels. Eighty-two times during his PGA Tour career, he ended a tournament week by raising the trophy — winning at a clip and with a gusto we have rarely seen since.

Scottie Scheffler might still have some work to do on the “gusto” part of the equation (even now, he carries his success with an understated, almost embarrassed subtlety). But as far as the “winning” part of the equation is concerned? Well, he’s on a historic trajectory.

On Sunday morning, Scheffler will arrive at the American Express as he often does on Sunday mornings during the golf season: As the betting favorite to emerge from Sunday afternoon as the winner. At the 54-hole mark in Palm Springs, Calif., Scheffler is one shot off the mark set by Si Woo Kim, lurking after three days of the brand of boringly spectacular play that has become his trademark. According to the sharps in Vegas, he is (at worst) even money to win the whole tournament.

You don’t have to think hard right now to know how a Scheffler victory would look. Another blemish-free Sunday, another slow-but-deliberate accumulation of pars and birdies, another four or five-shot advantage, another postgame celebration with family.

But the truth is that this victory for Scheffler would be noticeably different from those that came before it — because this victory brings some historical significance. Should Scheffler win on Sunday at the American Express, he would reach 20 PGA Tour wins for his career. And, should he reach 20 PGA Tour wins for his career on Sunday, he would become only the third golfer in history to reach the 20-victory mark before his 30th birthday, behind only Jack Nicklaus and, yes, Tiger Woods. (These stats come to us courtesy of the always-razor-sharp Justin Ray.)

Of course, Scheffler would not quite be in “Woods Territory” with a victory on Sunday. At the time of his 30th birthday, Tiger had already amassed an astonishing 46 professional wins. If Scheffler played in an event every week until his 30th birthday on June 21 and won each, he would only get to 39 victories before his 30th — still seven wins shy of Woods.

Still, to find yourself in the 20/30 club is to find yourself in rarefied air — up next to arguably the two greatest players ever. Despite his brilliance, Scheffler’s historic trajectory has remained one of the underreported stories in golf over the last several years, a feat likely owed to his low-key style both on the course and off of it.

To reach the 20-win mark before his 30th would redefine that conversation as we know it — and it would start on Sunday at the American Express.