Judge Opens Tiger's Medicine Cabinet in DUI Case

The courtroom drama surrounding Tiger Woods’March 27 crash just got a lot more intrusive. A Martin County Circuit Court judge in Florida has given prosecutors the green light to dig through the golf legend’s prescription records—a move that marks a significant turn in his DUI investigation.

At a hearing on Tuesday, the judge approved the state’s request to subpoena Tiger’s medication history from Lewis Pharmacy in Palm Beach. Tiger’s lawyer, Douglas Duncan, had fought the subpoena on privacy grounds, but the court sided with prosecutors who argue they need to understand his prescription patterns before the accident. What exactly are they looking for? How often he filled prescriptions, pill counts, dosages, and whether those medications carried driving warnings.

Here’s where it gets real: police say Tiger had two hydrocodone pills in his pocket when he was arrested following the crash. He’s pleaded not guilty to the DUI, but prosecutors clearly believe the prescription records could tell a story about impairment. The judge, however, threw in a protective order—these records won’t become public through open records requests. Only prosecutors, law enforcement, expert witnesses, and Tiger’s own legal team get access. In other words, the court found the information relevant enough to compel, but sensitive enough to keep under wraps.

This case has always hinged on the drug angle rather than alcohol. That focus on his medication history suggests prosecutors are building their case around the idea that prescription drugs impaired his driving, not a trip to the bar the night before. Whether those records ultimately prove decisive remains to be seen, but the judge’s ruling means Tiger’s entire pharmaceutical past is now part of the public record—even if the public can’t actually see it.