Tiger Woods announced the death of his mother, Kultida Woods, on February 4, 2025. The 15-time major championship winner shared the news of his mother’s passing on Instagram and X (formerly Twitter). He called her his “biggest fan,” “biggest supporter” and “a force of nature.”
Kultida Woods, who was 81 at the time of her death, was actively involved in her son’s career. His final public appearance was last week at the TGL Golf Match on January 27, 2025. Woods’ mother was in attendance to watch Tiger Woods and his Jupiter Links GC team win the first TGL championship since the league’s inception. Interestingly, before he started playing, Tiger Woods called his mother, who was in the crowd, and promised her that he would play well. The golf legend said,
“Hey, Mom! ‘Today is not going to suck, okay?'”
The 15-time major champion kept his promise to his mother with a 4-3 playoff victory over Rory McIlroy’s Boston Common Golf Team. Kultida Woods, originally from Thailand, met Earl Woods while he was serving in Thailand in 1966. She married him in 1969 and in 1975 they had their only child, Tiger Woods. Kultida remained married to Earl until his death in 2006.
How Kultida Woods Inspired Tiger Woods’ Famous Red Outfit
Tiger Woods is known for often wearing a red shirt during the final rounds of his tournaments. But it wasn’t his idea to make red his signature color. Last year, the golf legend appeared on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” and talked about the origins of his famous outfit. Woods credited his mother for her achievements, saying she thought red was Woods’ power color because he won several tournaments wearing it.
“The red story is a really funny story. It’s from my mother. My mother thought it was mine, Capricorn, anything was my power color or a kind of BS. So I ended up wearing red and winning a few golf tournaments,” Woods said [via Golfweek].
He also said he tried wearing blue to spite his mother, but it didn’t work out in the games.
\”And then to spite her I wore blue and I did not win those tournaments. So, mama is always right,” he added.
Woods launched his clothing line and golf apparel brand, Sun Day Red, in 2024.
