Trump Family's Connection To Tiger Woods Under Microscope After Golfer's DUI

By O. Z. Reyes
Donald Trump and Tiger Woods looking at each other as Trump touches Woods' arm Win Mcnamee/Getty Images

No need to check your calendars — it is, indeed, 2026, not 2009. However, given the recent headlines about legendary golfer Tiger Woods, a bit of déjà vu is understandable. Per NPR, Woods has been arrested and charged with DUI after being involved in a rollover crash in Florida. This is hardly Woods' first rodeo, as he previously received widespread coverage for crashing his car the night his then-wife, Elin Nordegren, discovered his slew of affairs in late 2009. Woods subsequently pleaded guilty to reckless driving charges related to a 2017 incident in which officers found him unconscious in the driver's seat of his damaged car, before later being injured in a serious single-car accident in 2021. This time around, though, Woods has gotten the attention of none other than U.S. President Donald Trump, thus placing a microscope over the family connection between the two figures.

"I feel so badly. ... He's got some difficulty. There was an accident, and that's all I know. Very close friend of mine. ... But, uh, some difficulty," Trump said when asked about Woods' accident (via X). And apparently, this is how some people are finding out that Woods is romantically linked to Vanessa Trump, ex-wife of Donald Trump Jr. and mother of Donald Sr.'s granddaughter, Kai Trump. "Tiger woods is dating who ?" one confused X user wrote in response to a report that neither Vanessa, Kai, nor any of Kai's siblings were in Woods' car at the time of the crash.  "Wait...Tiger Woods is dating the mother of Trump's grandchildren?" another user posted. Indeed, while this unexpected development is hardly breaking news for those in the loop, Woods and Vanessa have only been public with their romance for a very short time.

What Vanessa Trump's ex thinks of her romance with Tiger Woods

Vanessa Trump wearing a cap and sunglasses Douglas P. Defelice/Getty Images

Tiger Woods and Vanessa Trump's romantic relationship first came to light during the first half of March 2025, with the Daily Mail breaking the story. People independently verified the report shortly thereafter, citing an anonymous insider who explained that Woods and Vanessa had been quietly seeing each other for several months by that point. The source also claimed that Vanessa's ex-husband Donald Trump Jr. was "cool" with his ex-wife's new romance.

This was backed up by a separate report published by Page Six, whose own source partially attributes Don Jr.'s approval to his father's affinity for Woods. "He also knows that his father [President Trump] respects Tiger and how well they get along, so he's fully supportive," they shared. "Don has obviously dated other people since their split so as long as Tiger treats Vanessa and their kids with respect, he's good with it."

Woods and Vanessa would ultimately hard-launch their relationship later in March 2025. And from the sound of things, the championship golfer is in it for the long haul — albeit for a somewhat sad reason. According to a December 2025 Daily Mail report, Woods is all too aware of the fact that he's in the twilight of his professional career, and Vanessa "came into his life at just the right time. ... She has added so much stability on the home front." Of course, that being said, whether their relationship survives Woods' latest legal snafu and the "difficulty" he's facing, as Vanessa's former father-in-law put it, remains to be seen.

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