“Heartbreaking Announcement: Tiger Woods Reveals Devastating News About His Mother”

Kultida Woods has always chosen to live out of the public eye, valuing the peace and authenticity that a private life affords. She shuns the spotlight, content to be herself and support her son, Tiger Woods, from the background. One notable influence she had on him was encouraging him to wear red, his power color, during the final rounds of tournaments.

The Enforcer with a Soft Side

Tiger often describes his mother as the enforcer, the parent he feared more than his father. Despite this, Kultida, or “Tida,” has a softer side. In his early tournaments, she would give Tiger 75 cents: 25 cents for a hotdog, 25 cents to call her, and 25 cents as a backup in case the payphone swallowed the first quarter.

An American Life with Thai Values

In 2009, Kultida reflected on her life in the U.S., where she had lived for 40 years compared to the 25 she spent in Thailand. She considered herself more American in some ways, yet she raised her son with the best elements of her Thai culture.

A Diverse Heritage and a Tough Childhood

Born in 1944 in Kanchanaburi, Thailand, Kultida “Tida” Punsawad came from a diverse background of Thai, Chinese, and Caucasian heritage. Raised as a Buddhist, she was the youngest of four siblings. Her father, a teacher and architect, owned a fleet of buses and a tin mine.

At five, her parents divorced, and she was sent to boarding school until she was ten. During this period, no relatives visited her. Afterward, she shuttled between her father’s and mother’s homes, who had both remarried and extended their families.

Meeting Earl Woods: A Cross-Cultural Romance

Despite her rudimentary English, Kultida became a civilian secretary at a U.S. Army base in Bangkok. There, she met Officer Earl Woods, a former baseball player of African-American, Chinese, and Native American heritage. Earl, already married to Ann Hart with three children, found himself drawn to Kultida.

Their first date was a comedy of cultural misunderstandings. They agreed to meet at eight, but Earl waited late into the night, thinking she had stood him up. Kultida, on the other hand, wondered why he missed their 8 a.m. appointment. It was then that Earl learned that Thai women of her class did not go out at night. Their first proper date was at a holy day service at the Temple of the Reclining Buddha, with a chaperone in tow.

A New Life in America

Earl and Kultida married in 1969 and moved to Brooklyn, New York, where she worked in a bank. The complexities of their union included Earl’s first marriage, which ended officially in the U.S. only in 1972.

Raising Tiger Woods in Asian Culture

After Earl retired from the Special Forces, they settled in Cypress, Orange County, chosen for its proximity to a Navy golf course. They were not warmly welcomed; a rock was thrown through their kitchen window.

Kultida named their son Eldrick Woods, born on December 30, 1975, to ensure he always felt his parents’ presence. His name began with his father’s initial, “E,” and ended with his mother’s, “K.” Unable to have more children, Kultida dedicated herself to raising Eldrick, known globally as Tiger Woods, with the values of her homeland. She never hired a babysitter, emphasizing personal involvement in his upbringing.

Tiger accompanied his mother to Thailand at nine, where he met his grandfather, who gifted him a mother-of-pearl Buddha statue he still treasures. Tiger values Buddhism for its holistic approach to living, a testament to the blend of Western and Asian influences in his upbringing.

Kultida Woods remains a pivotal figure in Tiger’s life, her quiet strength and cultural values shaping the man behind the legend.