Golf
Recent clip of Tiger Woods at his charity poker night sparks concerns
Tiger Woods has sparked concerns amongst golf fans as a clip from his own charity poker event in Las Vegas has gone viral on social media.
The 15-time major winner was praised for the $22million his TGR Foundation has raised since 1998 by American professional poker player Phil Hellmuth in clip from his Tiger Jam poker charity event.
One of the event’s highlights is Tiger’s Poker Night, attracting A-list celebrities and familiar faces within the world of poker.
Hellmuth, who’s won a record seventeen World Series of Poker bracelets, bumped into Woods at one point with popular Twitch streamer Ninja to talk about some of his foundation’s accomplishments.
The 48-year-old golfer said without a doubt that TGR’s biggest success stems from the stories that kids come back and tell after being provided an education through his foundation.
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‘All of a sudden they’re in college flourishing,’ he said. ‘Going to Stanford, Harvard, MIT, Yale and going to amazing places doing amazing things.’
However, the clip raised eyebrows among golf fans with some suggesting on X that the Hall of Fame golfer had a few drinks.
‘Tiger Woods easily off 3 perks & 7 vodka sodas in this video lmao,’ a user shared.
‘Tiger is absolutely sauced talking about Mars lmao,’ another wrote, while someone else said: ‘Tiger is quite zooted.’
Some fans, on the other hand, were quick to leap to Woods’ defense, evoking his right to privacy and being loose on the night of his big charity event.
‘People are upset he’s partying in Vegas? What?’ a user on X pointed out.
‘He’s just living life,’ another shared, while someone else said: ‘Let him enjoy his life. Don’t judge! His foundation is doing fabulous things.’
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Woods has had several run-ins with the law due to his alcohol and drug consumption in the past.
In 2017, Woods was arrested near his home in Jupiter Island, Florida, for driving under the influence. At the time, he was asleep in his car, which was stationary in a traffic lane with its engine running.
He eventually pleaded guilty to reckless driving and received a year’s probation, as well as a $250 fine, and mandatory requirement to undergo 50 hours of community service along with regular drug tests.
Woods was also not allowed to drink alcohol during the probation, and if he violated his probation then he would be sentenced to 90 days in jail with an additional $500 fine.
In 2009, Woods was prescribed Ambien and Vicodin when he famously crashed his car outside of his Windermere, Florida, home while allegedly having an extra marital affair. Local police eventually didn’t press charges after the incident.
Woods blamed that incident and the one in 2017 on his prescribed medications, not alcohol, at the time.
After his confession to having multiple affairs with other women while married to his ex-wife Elin Nordegren, Woods spent six weeks at a rehab center in Mississippi for sex addiction.
He also enrolled at a treatment center in Arizona in 2010 after battling addiction to Vicodin and Ambien.
Most recently in 2021, he survived a serious roll over car crash in Rancho Palos Verdes, California.
It was later reported that Woods was driving over 80mph, nearly twice the speed-limit, before he crashed. However, no other vehicles were involved in the wreck and Woods wasn’t subjected to a breathalyzer at the time as it was believed he wasn’t impaired.