Tiger Woods says he has completed intensive program

ByBOB HARIG
July 3, 2017, 5:35 PM

— -- Tiger Woods?tweeted Monday that he has completed treatment after saying in June that he was getting "professional help" to deal with medications used for back pain and sleep issues.

"I recently completed an out of state private intensive program," Woods tweeted. "I will continue to tackle this going forward with my doctors, family and friends. I am so very thankful for all of the support I've received."

The 14-time major champion has been recovering from April 19 back surgery and was arrested on DUI charges on May 29.

Woods, 41, was asleep at the wheel of his car in the early-morning hours on Memorial Day. Later, in a statement, he said alcohol was not involved but that he had an "unexpected reaction" to prescription medication.

Woods' agent, Mark Steinberg, had said in June that Woods was receiving in-patient treatment.

"Tiger has been dealing with so much pain physically. And that leads to insomnia and sleep issues," he said. "This has been going on for a long time."

On May 24, in Woods' first extensive comments since the fusion surgery, his fourth back surgery in just over three years, he explained in a website post that he had been dealing with nerve pain that caused quality-of-life issues.

"It is hard to express how much better I feel," Woods wrote. "It was instant nerve relief. I haven't felt this good in years."

Five days later, Woods was observed by police pulled over near the side of a road some 9 miles from his home in Jupiter, Florida. He failed multiple field-sobriety tests but blew a 0.00 on a breathalyzer after being taken into custody.

Woods told police that he had taken four prescription pain medications, including Vicodin. The Golf Channel, which obtained an unredacted version of the Jupiter Police Department report, reported that Woods said he was also taking Xanax.

Woods had his first back surgery on March 31, 2014, and he has not been anywhere near the same golfer who just a year earlier won five times on the PGA Tour to run his career victory total to 79.

He had another surgery in September 2015, then a third six weeks later. From that point, Woods went more than a year without competing, returning for what seemed a promising restart at the Hero World Challenge in December.

But after plotting an ambitious early-season schedule, Woods made it through just three rounds before eventually shutting it down again. He missed the cut at the Farmers Insurance Open in January, then the following week played just one round at the European Tour event in Dubai, withdrawing the next day with back spasms.