Gary Player has a fairly simple solution for Tiger Woods.

Hire a driver.

“I think all he’s got to do is just not drive a car and get a chauffeur,” Player said on Thursday after hitting the ceremonial tee shot to open the Masters at Augusta National Golf Club. 

“My reflexes, I think, are as good as when I was 20. But I don’t drive anymore. I get a chauffeur.”

Woods is not in the field this week after he was involved in a rollover crash in Florida and arrested late last month. He was formally charged on Wednesday with misdemeanor DUI and refusing to take a chemical or physical test. He has entered a plea of not guilty.

Woods was driving in Jupiter Island, Florida, when he collided with a pickup truck and rolled his Range Rover. There were no injuries after the incident, and Woods climbed out of his SUV on his own. He told police that he was looking at his phone before the accident, and police found two pain pills in his pocket.

The 50-year-old hasn’t played much in recent years while battling numerous injuries. He ruptured his Achilles in March 2025, and underwent surgery for a lumbar disc replacement in October. That was at least the seventh back surgery he’s undergone in his career. Woods has been involved in multiple car accidents in the past, too, including one in 2021 that nearly cost him his leg in Southern California. 

Player, 90, won the Masters three times in his career, most recently in 1978. He’s won nine major championships in his career, and is one of just six people in history to complete the career grand slam. 

While he has plenty of sympathy for the pain and injuries that Woods has dealt with throughout his career, Player doesn’t want Woods behind a wheel while medicated.

“You know, it's very easy, the human being is so critical of everything,” Player said. “If I or any of you in this room had the pain that Tiger Woods had, think of the excruciating pain that this man has been going through for a long time … He’s in pain. 

“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.”

Woods announced last week that he is stepping away from competitive golf to seek treatment, which he is doing outside of the United States. It’s unclear how long Woods will be away from the game.

But in whatever capacity he’s able, Player is among those rooting for him to get back to the sport. 

“There’s nothing worse than living in pain every day of your life,” Player said. “You can’t think of anything worse. 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.”