Tiger Woods' Mom Has Died

Kultida Woods, the devoted mom often seen at son Tiger Woods' golf tourneys, has died. The golf great announced his mother's Tuesday death on X with "heartfelt sadness," reports CNN. "My Mom was a force of nature all her own, her spirit was simply undeniable," Tiger Woods wrote. "She was quick with the needle and a laugh." He called the Thailand native his "biggest fan" and "greatest supporter" and added that "without her none of my personal achievements would have been possible."

The AP notes that Kultida Woods, a civilian secretary in the US Army's office in Bangkok, met eventual husband Earl Woods when he was stationed there. She barely spoke English when she came to the United States with him in the late '60s, settling first in New York City, then moving to California before Tiger Woods was born in 1975. Earl Woods died in 2006.

"When I was a girl my mother would always be worried, 'What will people say?' And even then I would think, I don't give a damn," Kultida Woods said in a 2009 interview. "I always tell Tiger: 'You can't do things just to please other people. ... You have to do what is right for yourself.' And on that, he does a good job." In his X tribute, Tiger Woods noted his mother was "loved by so many, but especially by her two grandchildren, Sam and Charlie." He signed his post "Love you Mom." (More Tiger Woods stories.)