Tiger Woods told police he was ‘just talking to the president,’ bodycam footage shows

“I was just talking to the president,” Tiger Woods told a law enforcement officer as he walked back to the area where he rolled his SUV onto its side last week, according to body camera footage released Thursday.

Digital footage from the Martin County (Fla.) Sheriff’s Office published by The Associated Press shows Woods, on what appears to be a walking and biking path in Jupiter Island, approaching an officer as the officer requests that the golfer stay near the scene of the accident.

As he strides past the officer, Woods puts a cellphone in a pocket of his shorts and says he was talking to the president.

It is not clear from the video who Woods was referring to.

Woods is friends with President Donald Trump and is dating Vanessa Trump, the former wife of Donald Trump Jr. In Trump’s first term as president, he gave Woods the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor.

Trump also commented on Woods’ crash when questioned by reporters Friday, saying, “I feel so badly. He’s got some difficulty. There was an accident. That’s all I know. Very close friend of mine.”

The golfer did not mention Trump’s name in the bodycam footage, however.

The video footage also shows Woods taking field sobriety tests. As Woods performs a test involving touching his nose with his eyes closed, an officer says, “Remember to return your hands back to your side. I’m not going to keep reminding you.”

Woods, 50, was charged with driving under the influence with property damage and refusal to submit to a lawful urinalysis test. He has pleaded not guilty and is seeking a jury trial.

He was granted permission to travel out of the United States to seek “comprehensive inpatient treatment,” according to a motion filed Wednesday in Florida. Woods submitted the request to ensure he receives the privacy he says he cannot receive in the United States.

After the crash, Woods told police he had looked down at his cellphone and was changing the radio station in his vehicle before he clipped a pickup truck, which caused his car to roll 90 degrees onto the driver’s side.

The crash occurred when a Ford F-150 towing a trailer slowed to turn right into a driveway. Woods, driving a Range Rover, drove into oncoming traffic in an attempt to maneuver around the truck. The front right bumper of Woods’ car collided with the back left of the trailer, and in turn, Woods’ car lost control and flipped onto its side.

Neither driver reported injuries.