Tiger Woods allowed to leave US for 'intensive' treatment program

Tiger Woods was granted a request Wednesday by a Florida judge to leave the United States to enter a comprehensive inpatient treatment facility as he faces misdemeanor driving under the influence charges, ESPN reported, citing court records.

Martin County Court Judge Darren Steele granted the motion to travel submitted by Woods' attorney, Douglas Duncan, who cited the 50-year-old golf superstar's need for an "intensive, highly individualized and medically integrated program" away from media and public scrutiny.

"Based upon the Defendant's treating physician, the out of country treatment facility recommendation is based upon the Defendant'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," the motion by Duncan stated, per ESPN.

"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."

The motion comes one day after Woods released a public statement and entered a plea of not guilty in a Florida court to charges of misdemeanor driving under the influence with property damage and refusal to submit to a urinalysis after a rollover crash in Jupiter, Fla., last Friday.

Woods told police he was looking at his cellphone and changing the radio station before his Land Rover clipped a truck in front of him that he didn't see slow down, per the arrest affidavit, which stated a breathalyzer test showed no signs of alcohol, but that Woods refused a urinalysis test for other drugs.

The affidavit stated Woods was "sweating profusely," his movements were "lethargic and slow," his eyes were "bloodshot and