Tiger Woods said dealing with the passing of his mother Kultida has been ‘very hard’ as he spoke openly for the first time since her sudden death earlier in February.
Woods confirmed the death of his mother in an emotional statement earlier in the month, describing her as his ‘biggest fan’.
Kultida was an ever-present figure during Woods’ career, often seen greenside in support of her son, including for his last major victory at the 2019 Masters.
The 15-time major champion has kept a low profile since his mother’s passing. He was due to play at last week’s Genesis Invitational but withdrew at late notice.
However, Woods did appear at Torrey Pines on Sunday to hand out to the trophy for the tournament which he hosts and opened up briefly about his mother’s passing in an interview with CBS Sports.
‘It’s been a tough process to go through,’ the 49-year-old said.
‘But I’ve had amazing family support, all the players have reached out that were playing here this week.
‘The amount of texts and emails and nice messages of support I got has really helped and it really means a lot to me.
Speaking about her influence on his career, he added: ‘She was my rock, you know?
‘My dad worked at McDonnell Douglas at the time, working on the Delta rocket, and mom would take me to every junior event here in Southern California.
‘She would drive out there and keep score, walk every hole and how many putts I hit, how many fairways I hit, how many greens I hit. She tracked it all.
‘She meant everything to me. Losing her has been a very hard and difficult process to go through.’
With Woods not teeing it up at the Genesis, questions naturally arose as to when golf fans can expect to see the legendary American back in action.
In the previous two years, the Genesis has been Woods’ only warm-up tournament before the Masters, but the 82-time PGA Tour winner hinted he may now look to tee it up at another event before the first major of the year at Augusta National.
‘My goal was to play more and I haven’t played,’ Woods said. ‘Got to work on that.
‘This process was unexpected. I’ll get back after it and look forward to playing some of the bigger events.’
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