Tiger Woods turns down Ryder Cup captaincy

Tiger Woods formally turned down the Ryder Cup captaincy Wednesday as he steps away from golf activities, and a Florida judge approved his motion to leave the country to seek treatment.

The developments come one day after Woods entered a not guilty plea to suspicion of driving under the influence when his SUV clipped the back of a trailer and flipped on its side last week on a residential road near his home on Jupiter Island, Florida.

Woods posted a statement Tuesday night saying that he was stepping away indefinitely “to seek treatment and focus on my health.”

A motion filed Wednesday by his attorney, Douglas Duncan, asked a judge that Woods be allowed to travel outside the country to begin “comprehensive inpatient treatment.”

Duncan said the recommendation from Woods’ doctor was based on the golfer’s “complex clinical presentation and the urgent need for a level of care that cannot safely or effectively be done within the United States as his privacy has been repeatedly compromised.

“Ongoing medical scrutiny and public exposure create significant barriers to his care and would result in setbacks and an inability to fully engage in treatment.” Martin County Court Judge Darren Steele approved the motion, which did not say where the inpatient treatment facility was located.

Woods sought treatment at an inpatient facility in Mississippi clinic in January 2010 after he was caught in a series of extramarital affairs, and his agent said he sought treatment at another inpatient clinic after his 2017 DUI arrest.

“I’m committed to taking the time needed to return in a healthier, stronger, and more focused place, both personally and professionally,” Woods said.