Tiger Woods Arrested For DUI

Tiger Woods was arrested early Monday morning for driving under the influence, but hours after his release from a jail near his Florida home issued a statement saying “alcohol was not involved.”

In the statement, released through his publicist Monday evening, Woods blamed his arrest on prescription drugs.

“What happened was an unexpected reaction to prescribed medications,” Woods said in the statement. “I didn’t realize the mix of medications had affected me so strongly.”

Woods, 41, had a fourth surgery on his back April 20. He has played only twice this year, the last time when he withdrew from a February event in Dubai, citing the bad back.

But Monday night, Mark Steinberg, Woods’s longtime agent, would not say whether the mix of medications Woods cited was related to his back problems.

“He wanted to clarify the situation,” Steinberg said by phone. “But there’s nothing further to provide right now.”

Woods was arrested on suspicion of DUI and booked into the Palm Beach County Jail at 7:18 a.m., according to police records. The 14-time major champion, whose career has been stalled for four years by a series of injuries, lives in Jupiter Island, Fla. He was released at 10:50 a.m.

“I understand the severity of what I did and I take full responsibility for my actions,” Woods said in his statement. “I want the public to know that alcohol was not involved.