NEW YORK – Kultida Woods, whose guidance and support helped propel her son Tiger Woods to become one of golf’s most dominant athletes, died on Feb 4 at the age of 78.
Tiger announced his mother’s death on social media. He did not cite a cause or say where she died.
“My mom was a force of nature all her own, her spirit was simply undeniable... She was my biggest fan, greatest supporter,” he wrote.
“Without her none of my personal achievements would have been possible.”
Kultida Woods was a frequent presence in her son’s public life, whether attending his tournaments or standing by his side during a period of scandal that took him away from the sport.
Tiger spoke often about his mother’s role in his career.
“I didn’t do this alone,” he said in a speech as recently as in 2024, accepting the Bob Jones Award from the United States Golf Association. “I had the greatest rock that any child could possibly have – my mom.”
Kultida Punsawad was born in Kachaburi, Thailand, on Sept 30, 1946, and met Earl Woods in the country when she was a secretary in Bangkok and he was on a military assignment. (Earl died in 2006.)
During his acceptance speech at the 2022 World Golf Hall of Fame induction ceremony, Tiger credited his parents with providing him an early start in the sport he came to dominate.
He said that when he was six, his mother took him to a golf course in Long Beach, California, and asked employees there: “Can my son play here and practise a little bit?”
He also recalled that when he was eight, she would drop him off at the entryway to the golf course and give him 75 cents to buy a hot dog and use the pay phone to call when he was ready for her to pick him up.
In the speech, Tiger revealed that when he was about 14, his family struggled to afford the costs of his golf tournaments. His voice broke as he recalled the sacrifices his mother made to make it work.
Kultida Woods, in the audience, smiled up at him.
Tiger credited his father for inspiring his work ethic. But while he spoke often of how supportive his mother was, he has also said she was tough on him.
In an interview with the CBS News programme “60 Minutes” in 2006, Kultida Woods was asked whether she had experienced prejudice in the United States, and she said yes, especially when she took Tiger from a tournament to a country club.
“Some of them reject us,” she said. “I said, &...