Golf

Charles Barkley is going to bat for his old friend, Tiger Woods -- saying people like Jack Nicklaus who say Tiger needs help don't REALLY know what they're talking about.

Barkley appeared on 97.5 FM The Fanatic Philadelphia on Wednesday and was asked for his thoughts on Tiger's DUI. He's clearly upset with people assuming Tiger has a serious substance abuse issue.

"Even Jack Nicklaus, somebody I really respect, talking about, 'Tiger really needs help.' Well he don't KNOW that. We don't know if Tiger has a drug problem."

Barkley added, "He just had a bad reaction [to prescription medication]. He wasn't out there drinking and driving."

Barkley says the "haters" are "in heaven right now because they get a chance to dump on the guy."

Barkley and Tiger were very close friends before 2009 -- and would regularly hit Vegas together. But Tiger cut him off after his marriage fell apart.

Laci Kay Somers wants no part of a Tiger Woods scandal ... the wildly popular, and smoking hot, Instagram model is denying rumors she was hanging with him prior to his DUI arrest.

Laci tells TMZ ... multiple reports claiming she was in Florida Sunday night with Tiger are completely false. She insists she was in L.A. all weekend with her mom, and more to the point ... she's NEVER met Tiger.

Fact is, Laci fits the mold -- smoking hot blonde a la Tiger's current squeeze Kristin Smith ... not to mention Lindsey Vonn and Elin Nordegren. However, the model, who has 8 million IG followers, says she has zero history with him ... no phone calls, no texts, no sliding up in the DMs.

She has no clue how the rumor started, but we'll say this ... Tiger's done worse.

Cops have just released the police video of the Tiger Woods DUI arrest -- showing the golfer zonked out during the stop and bombing field sobriety tests.

The footage was shot early Monday morning from a Jupiter PD dash cam. Cops say Woods was passed out behind the wheel when they approached the car.

He's almost like a zombie in the footage -- swaying, incoherent ... and unable to even tie his own shoes.

At one point during the stop, an officer tells Tiger he smells the "odor" of alcohol on him -- though Woods insists he did not drink. A breathalyzer later showed Tiger's BAC was .000.

The incident took place roughly 8 miles from Tiger's home in Jupiter, FL. An obviously disoriented Woods told cops he believed he was in L.A. ... driving toward Orange County.

Woods insists alcohol was not a factor and blames it on an "unexpected reaction to prescription medications."

Police video of the Tiger Woods DUI arrest is expected to be released Wednesday ... this according to the Jupiter Police Dept.

Woods was arrested early Monday morning after cops found the golfer passed out behind the wheel of his banged up 2015 Mercedes-Benz ... roughly 8 miles from his Florida home.

Officials noted that the arrest was captured on at least one police dash camera -- which we were told was initially being reviewed for redaction and would "likely be available for release May 31st."

John Daly still supports Tiger Woods in a big way -- and says the best way to hush critics after his DUI arrest is to get back on the golf course.

TMZ Sports spoke with Daly -- who's famously battled alcohol issues in the past -- and John dished out some sincere advice to Tiger when it comes to avoiding DUIs in the future.

Tiger Woods' girlfriend is sticking to her own form of therapy in dealing with her man's DUI bust -- more shopping ... and lots of it.

Kristin Smith was in Dallas Tuesday loading up a hefty bag full of what looked like shoe boxes. While her face looks bummed out, Kristin seems to be getting through by doing what she does best ... shopping.

She's a stylist.

As we reported, Kristin broke out in hysterics Monday upon learning Tiger had been arrested and charged for DUI in Florida. That didn't stop her from finishing a $5,000 shopping spree though.

In the immortal words of no one ... Keep Calm and Shop On!

Tiger Woods' car was a wreck when cops found him during his DUI arrest -- with 2 flat tires, a broken tail light and mangled bumpers ... this according to the police report obtained by TMZ Sports.

The officers at the scene reported, "Both rims on the driver's side of the vehicle are damaged and both tires on the driver's side are flat."

Tiger was behind the wheel of a 2015 Mercedes AMG S65 at the time of the incident -- repairing that kind of a car ain't cheap.

Cops noted the damage appeared to have been inflicted recently.

In the report, officers say Woods -- who was a groggy mess -- told cops he believed he was in Los Angeles and was driving to Orange County.

There's more ... when officers arrested Tiger and confiscated his belongings, they noticed the golfer had a concealed weapons license.

Jack Nicklaus says he feels bad for Tiger Woods after his DUI arrest -- and says the golf community should rally around to help him.

Nicklaus was speaking with Golf Channel's Nick Menta and said straight-up, "I feel bad for Tiger."

"Tiger's a friend. He's been great for the game of golf. He needs our help. I wish him well."

Nicklaus added, "I'm a friend of Tiger's. I feel bad for him. He's struggling ... He needs support from a lot of people. I'll be one of them."

Tiger Woods sent a "dangerous and deadly message" to his fans when he decided to get behind the wheel after taking prescription medication ... this according to Mothers Against Drunk Driving.

MADD is the nation’s largest nonprofit working to protect families from impaired driving -- and clearly, they're unhappy with Tiger's excuse that he simply had an "unexpected reaction to prescribed medications."

"When athletes and celebrities who serve as role models, like Tiger Woods, allegedly make the decision to drive impaired, it sends a dangerous and deadly message," a MADD spokesperson tells TMZ Sports.

"There are no excuses to drive under the influence of any impairing substance, whether its alcohol or any legal or illegal impairing drugs."

5/30 -- Contrary to what law enforcement sources told us Monday, according to the police report Tiger did not have alcohol in his system and did not refuse a breathalyzer. He also was found stopped on the side of the road and not weaving.

And, according to the police report, Tiger was cooperative.

5:00 PM PT -- Tiger just released a statement ... "I understand the severity of what I did and I take full responsibility for my actions. I want the public to know that alcohol was not involved. What happened was an unexpected reaction to prescribed medications. I didn't realize the mix of medications affected me so strongly."

Woods goes on ... "I would like to apologize with all my heart to my family, friends, and the fans. I expect more from myself, too. I will do everything in my power to ensure this never happens again.

I fully cooperated with law enforcement, and I would like to personally thank the representatives of the Jupiter Police Dept. and the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office for their professionalism."

1:00 PM PT -- We've learned Tiger's girlfriend, Kristin Smith, learned about the arrest while shopping at a Neiman Marcus store in Dallas. Someone called her and, according to several eyewitnesses, "she went crazy" and said "I knew it, I knew it." We're told she began crying, then bought $5k worth of merchandise and left.

10:30 AM PT -- Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... cops spotted Woods "driving erratically, all over the road" when they pulled him over. We're told the officer smelled alcohol on Woods' breath and at that point Woods became "arrogant." We're told the officer asked him to blow into a breathalyzer but he refused. In Florida that means automatic arrest and license suspension.

Our sources say Woods' people have been calling the police all morning asking if the cop had a body cam.

9:45 AM PT -- We're told Woods was driving a 2015 Mercedes. Cops called a tow yard to store the vehicle but then cancelled the call. Someone involved tells us a person in Woods' camp retrieved the vehicle.

9:40 AM PT -- Unclear if it's related, but Tiger had back surgery last month. As we reported, cops have not specified whether the DUI was for drugs, alcohol or both.

Tiger Woods has been arrested on DUI charges in Jupiter, Florida.

The golfer was stopped by cops early Monday morning for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs. He was taken in around 3 AM and released from Palm Beach County Jail at 10:50 AM.

You'll recall ... when Tiger and then wife Elin Nordegren got into their blowout fight back in 2009, he hit a tree while allegedly driving under the influence of Ambien. He was not charged with DUI at the time.

Barack Obama's not just on vacation -- he's on the most EPIC vacay, and it's starting to feel like he's rubbing it in your face.

Prez 44 was celebrating and grinning Friday all over Scotland's St Andrews Golf Club ... birthplace of the sport he's apparently trying to turn pro in now. Based on his face, we'd say Barack was killing it on the Old Course.

He's made a point of hitting the links almost everywhere he's been since leaving office -- starting in Palm Springs and most recently in Italy. Gotta say ... no one in history's done retirement better.

Just to run down his passport stamps since January: Virgin Islands, French Polynesia, Italy, Germany, Scotland. PLUS the reported $60 mil he and Michelle are getting for their memoirs.

Barack Obama can't get enough of Tuscany -- or at least its killer golf courses, 'cause he's back driving the fairways.

Obama hit the links Tuesday at the Castiglion del Bosco Resort in Siena, Italy -- and looked focused on his form. Decent follow-through, too.

You'll recall ... the former Prez also got his golf on over the weekend. While Michelle's been taking in Italy's sights, shops and restaurants ... BO's all about honing his game on this vacay.

BTW ... the Castiglion resort is all about 2 things: golf and wine. Barack's choice is clear.

Aaron Rodgers was spotted at an L.A. golf course Thursday with a very attractive blonde -- and we're told it's "Baywatch" actress Kelly Rohrbach.

Just a few weeks after reports surfaced he split with longtime girlfriend Olivia Munn -- the Green Bay Packers quarterback hit up the Westchester Golf Course.

Witnesses tell us Rodgers and Rohrbach appeared to be holding hands and looked flirty -- until they noticed people watching them.

Both Rodgers and Rohrbach are avid golfers -- so maybe it was just a platonic trip to the links.

Then again, maybe not.

Matt Goggin wants justice for his broken golf clubs -- he's just afraid to demand it from United Airlines for fear of getting manhandled a la Dr. David Dao.

The Australian pro golfer's pissed off about 3 of his clubs getting snapped at the head. As he put it ... it's the first time in more than 20 years his gear got destroyed in flight.

Naturally, Goggin was looking to give someone an earful -- if only he had flown a different airline. He tweeted, "I was going to complain but I must admit I'm a little intimidated by @united."

He's obviously referring to the infamous video of Dao getting jacked up.

Lucky for Matt, TaylorMade Golf responded and promised to replace the clubs. As for United? Maybe they've just got bigger fish to fry.

How do golfers do Spring Break? They golf.

Rickie Fowler and Jordan Spieth linked up with fellow golf pros Smylie Kaufman and Justin Thomas for a guys trip to the Bahamas ... where they let loose, popped some beers and swung away.

The guys looked like they're having a blast ... but even though they APPEARED to be goofing around on the golf course, you KNOW things eventually got competitive.

Sergio Garcia says he was "disappointed" Dustin Johnson couldn't play in The Masters -- but says the fact the #1 player in the world pulled out doesn't take away from the sweetness of his victory.

Of course, Johnson suffered a back injury the night before the tournament and withdrew right before tee off. Some people say the fact Garcia won the tourney without the #1 player lessens the quality of the win.

But not Sergio.

Garcia admits it sucks Johnson couldn't play ... but says straight-up, "I don't think it takes anything away from the victory."

We also talk about how many fittings it took to get the rightsized green jacket -- and his golf outing with Michael Jordan.