Overview
- Woods sent a pre-recorded tribute that played at the Payne Stewart Award ceremony on Tuesday, praising longtime friend Notah Begay III and saying Begay had helped more than 80,000 youths and families.
- The clip drew widespread social-media reaction focused on Woods’ changed look, with some users saying he appeared a "shell of his former self" and others defending him.
- Woods has kept a low public profile since his March 27 rollover crash on Jupiter Island, Florida, when officers reported signs of impairment and later said two hydrocodone pills were found on him.
- He has pleaded not guilty to misdemeanor charges of DUI with property damage and refusal to submit to a lawful test and is scheduled to appear in person in Martin County court on Sept. 8.
- Woods traveled to a rehabilitation facility in Switzerland in April and returned to the U.S. in May or June, and observers say the video underscores how his recovery, legal process, and public image will be watched closely in the run-up to his court date.