Tiger Woods held on drink-driving charge in Florida

Police in Palm Beach County released a mugshot of the golfer

Golf star Tiger Woods was arrested on a drink-driving charge in Florida early on Monday morning, police say.

Police recorded the arrest at 07:18 local time (11:18 GMT). The golfer was released a few hours later, records from Palm Beach County police show.

He was arrested in the town of Jupiter at around 03:00 local time, media reports say. He has not made any comment.

The police record lists the charge as Driving Under the Influence (DUI).

It specifies an unlawful blood alcohol level and says that he was released "on his own recognisance", meaning he promised in writing to co-operate with future legal proceedings.

The 41-year-old golfer has been recovering from recent back surgery and last blogged about his health on 24 May.

He wrote that the surgery had relieved terrible pain and that he hadn't "felt this good in years".

He said the outlook for a return to competitive golf was "positive" but that he was not in a "hurry".

"I want to play professional golf again but I'm not looking ahead," he said. "I can't twist for another two and a half to three months. Right now, my sole focus is rehab and doing what the doctors tell me. I am concentrating on short-term goals."

The former world number one has not won a major championship in nearly a decade

America's 14-time major champion came back after 15 months out injured in December, but has not played since his back problems recurred in February.

Plans to compete at Augusta in April - on the 20th anniversary of his first Masters win - had to be abandoned.

• Triumph to troubles: Tiger's masterclass 20 years on

Tiger Woods has not won a tournament anywhere since 2013, while his title drought in major championships dates back to 2008.

An unwanted image - Iain Carter, golf correspondent for BBC Sport

The mugshot shows a dishevelled Tiger Woods, bleary-eyed and unshaven - just the sort of image he would not want associated with himself in public.

The picture will haunt him throughout these proceedings and beyond. This is someone who has put back together his public life after that epic fall from grace with all the news of the extramarital affairs that broke in 2009.

What we gather from someone who has a jealously guarded lifestyle in terms of his privacy is he spends most of his time playing computer games. We know he speaks glowingly about being a father and looking after his children.

He's divorced and shares custody of his children and that's pretty much all we know of Tiger Woods' lifestyle at the moment, other than he says he wants to return to professional golf once this recovery has been completed.

Does golf need him as much as it once did? Perhaps not. A whole generation of golfers, with Rory McIlroy at the vanguard, have now come through. But Woods remains a huge box-office draw. Golf has suffered in his absence in recent years but it is getting used to the fact that he's unlikely to come back right at the very top of the game.

Read more: Can Woods repair damage of new low?

His personal life came under intense scrutiny in 2009 after he was charged with careless driving outside his Florida home.

He later admitted to having had extra-marital affairs and made a frank public apology. He said he had received professional help and planned to undergo further therapy.

The golfer lost several sponsors over the scandal and took a break from competitive golf. He and Elin Nordegren later announced their divorce.