Kultida Woods, the Thai-born mother of Tiger Woods who instilled his dominant spirit and encouraged him to wear a red shirt on Sunday as his power color, died Tuesday.
Woods announced the death of his 80-year-old mother in a . He did not disclose a cause or other details. She was at his indoor TMRW Golf League match last week in South Florida, where she lived.
He described her as a 鈥渇orce of nature鈥� who was his biggest supporter from the time she drove him to junior golf tournaments in California to being there for his 15 major championships, often wearing her wide-brimmed visor and sunglasses.
鈥淚t is with heartfelt sadness that I want to share that my dear mother, Kultida Woods, passed away early this morning,鈥� Woods wrote. 鈥淢y Mom was a force of nature all her own, her spirit was simply undeniable. She was quick with the needle and a laugh. She was my biggest fan, greatest supporter, without her none of my personal achievements would have been possible. She was loved by so many, but especially by her two grandchildren, Sam and Charlie.鈥�
President Donald Trump was among those who reached out platform, calling her 鈥渁n amazing influence鈥� on Woods.
Woods' father, Earl, died in 2006.
鈥淭ida,鈥� as she was called by many, was working as a civilian secretary in the U.S. Army office in Bangkok when she met Earl Woods, who was stationed there. She spoke minimal English when she married him and left Thailand for the first time in 1968, first going to Brooklyn and then to Cypress, California, where Woods was born in 1975.
His father taught him golf. His mother brought the discipline.
鈥淓veryone thought it was my dad when I went on the road, which it was,鈥� Woods said last year when he received the Bob Jones Award from the USGA. 鈥淏ut Mom was at home. If you don't know, Mom has been there my entire life. She's always been there through thick and thin.
鈥淪he has allowed me to get here. She allowed me to do these things, chase my dreams, and the support and love 鈥� I didn鈥檛 do this alone. I had the greatest rock that any child could possibly have: my mom.鈥�
Passing along the Thai heritage of Woods was important to his mother. She took him to Thailand for the first time when Woods was 9, and he returned there to play three tournaments early in his career, winning each time.
What they shared was a fighting spirit.
"I am a loner, and so is Tiger,鈥� she said in a 2009 interview in Thailand with Jaime Diaz of Golf Digest, a rare occasion when she spoke publicly.
鈥淲hen I was a girl my mother would always be worried, 鈥榃hat will people say?鈥� And even then I would think, I don鈥檛 give a damn," Tida said. 鈥淚 always tell Tiger: 鈥榊ou can鈥檛 do things just to please other people. It will waste your energy, and you won鈥檛 be happy in yourself. You have to do what is right for yourself.鈥� And on that, he does a good job.鈥�
Inside the ropes, his mother wanted to see domination, and she got every bit of that. 鈥淎nd then, sportsmanship,鈥� she once said.
She was the one responsible for him wearing a Sunday red shirt 鈥� Woods now has an apparel line named for that 鈥� because in Thai it was his power color.
鈥淢om thought being a Capricorn that my power color was red, so I wore red as a junior golfer and I won some tournaments," Woods said at the . "I go to a university that is red 鈥� Stanford is red. We wore red on the final day of every single tournament, and then every single tournament I鈥檝e played as a professional I鈥檝e worn red. It鈥檚 just become synonymous with me.鈥�
She also had a tradition of giving Woods a new tiger head cover for his driver each year.
Stitched among the orange-and-black was written in Thai, 鈥淟ove from Mom.鈥�
Tida moved out of the house where Woods grew up to something more modern in Orange County, and she followed him to South Florida after her husband died. She didn't get out to as many tournaments but rarely missed the Masters. She was there with her grandchildren when Woods captured his fifth green jacket and 15th major in 2019 at Augusta National.
She was there for a long time, and Woods never failed to cite her influence on his career. That started long ago, driving him to tournaments or dropping him off at the golf course with a dollar 鈥� 75 cents to buy a hot dog, 25 cents for the phone call to pick him up.
Woods said in a 2017 interview with USA Today that it was his mother's discipline he feared.
鈥淢y mom鈥檚 still here and I鈥檓 still deathly afraid of her,鈥� he said. 鈥淪he鈥檚 a very tough, tough old lady, very demanding. ... I love her so much, but she was tough.鈥�
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This story has been corrected. A previous version incorrectly reported Kultida Woods' age as 78.
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AP golf:
Doug Ferguson, The Associated Press
