Golfing legend Gary Player has urged Tiger Woods to stop driving while reliant on pain medication, following the 15-time major winner's recent arrest for driving under the influence (DUI).
Woods is seeking treatment, believed to be in Switzerland, after being charged with driving under the influence last month following a car crash near his Florida home.
Police found two prescription opioid hydrocodone pills in his pockets at the time of his arrest, which the golfer has been using to manage chronic pain after numerous significant operations.
Nine-time major winner Player expressed deep sympathy for Woods’ physical difficulties but pleaded with him not to get behind the wheel of a car again.
"The human being is so critical of everything but my heart goes out to him," Player said. "There’s nothing worse than living in pain every day of your life. You can’t think of anything worse."
He continued: "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.
“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 cell phone in the car. 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 expressed his hope that Woods, now 50 and eligible to play on the Champions Tour where the physical demands are less, could make a successful return to the sport where he has built such a legacy.
"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," he added.
Jack Nicklaus, whose 18 majors Woods chased but now will never catch, also offered his support.
Asked for a message for Woods, he said: "Just (get) whatever you need to help you and get back, because I think golf needs him, and we’d love to have him back."
Nicklaus was one of a trio of former Masters champions, alongside the 90-year-old Player and 76-year-old Tom Watson, who hit ceremonial tee shots to officially start the 90th Masters at Augusta.
The golf legend admitted the shot, surrounded by a packed gallery, was a worry for him and he will only continue in the role for as long as he does not "kill anybody".
The late Arnold Palmer retired from the ceremony in 2015, aged 86, due to physical limitations.
Nicklaus, who will be 87 at next year’s event, had his son Jackie tee the ball up "so I don’t fall over".
He recounted his concerns about the shot: "I said ‘Spread out on both sides because I don’t want to kill anybody. If it had been a little closer, I might have. I got it high enough to hit it about 110 yards over their heads on the left.’"
He concluded: "I don’t know what was running through my mind other than not hurt anybody. I had carpal tunnel surgery about five, six weeks ago, and I was worried about not being able to hold onto the golf club and hurt somebody.
“But it’s such a nice ceremony and a real honor to be invited I hope to be able to do it as long as I can not kill anybody."
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