Tiger Woods facing community service, says report

According to reports in the US, Tiger Woods is set to face 20 hours of community service as part of his punishment for his driving arrest earlier in the year.

The Associated Press is reporting that the 14-time major winner and former world No.1 will tomorrow plead guilty to reckless driving and enter into a so-called ‘diversion program’ for intoxicated drivers that is aimed at reducing the number of repeat offenders and backlogs of court cases. Since it began four years ago, the program has ‘graduated’ 2,500 first-time offenders.

Woods was arrested in Florida in the early hours of May 29, around 15 miles from his home, after police officers found him unconscious in his car. His Mercedes-Benz was ‘parked awkwardly’ on the side of the road and had sustained damage to the driver’s side.

A toxicology report, released in August, showed Woods had the active ingredient for marijuana, two painkillers — Vicodin and Dilaudid — the sleep drug Ambien and the anti-anxiety drug Xanax in his system but no alcohol. The 41-year-old subsequently issued a statement saying he had been self-medicating for insomnia and pain relief following his most recent back surgery.

According to the Associated Press, Woods entering into the diversion program will require him to:

• Pay a $250 fine and court costs

• Attend ‘DUI School’

• Perform 20 hours of community service
• Attend a workshop where victims of impaired drivers outline how their lives have been damaged

He will also be required to undergo regular drug tests.

In happier news, Woods appears to be inching ever closer to a return to golf after posting the above clip of himself on Twitter yesterday.