As Tiger Woods won his fifth Masters green jacket, his family was there to celebrate the big moment. Tiger’s family members have changed over the years. Tiger embraced his father, Earl Woods, after his 1997 Masters victory. Earl would later die in 2006, a tragedy that took its toll on Tiger both personally and professionally.
This year, Tiger embraced his mom, Kultida, son, Charlie, daughter, Sam and girlfriend Erica. It marked the first major victory that Tiger could celebrate with his kids. It had been more than a decade since Tiger last won a major. It is fitting that Tiger would embrace his mother in his Sunday red, a tradition she helped start.
“It goes back to my mom,” Tiger told ESPN’s Marty Smith. “My mom says that my power color is red. And so, in junior golf I won a golf tournament wearing red. She said, ‘See I told you. Red.’ So, the very next tournament what do I do? I wear blue. Okay. So, I win. Again, I told her, and I just kind of made fun of it. Poked at her a little bit. I think I lost the next two out of three tournaments wearing blue. Switched to red and I went on a hot streak. And, well, I kept it.”
When Tiger Hit Rock Bottom, His Mother Encouraged Him to Connect with Buddhism
During Tiger’s public missteps, it was his mom who helped ground him. Behind the scenes, Kultida encouraged him to reconnect with their Buddhist faith. Kultida spoke to CBS News about what she told Tiger after his public apology.
“I said ‘I’m so proud of you,’” Kultida told CBS News. “Never think you stand alone. Mom will always be there for you and I love you…Buddhism teaches you to go deep inside your soul and look through from himself, and correct the bad thing to be a good thing,” Kultida told CBS News. “When he realized, he said okay, and went back to practice Buddhism and that will make him a much better person.”
Tiger Woods Noted His Hug With Kids at Masters Was “Full Circle”
This is so amazing.
Many compared the hug with his son to Tiger’s embrace with his father. After the victory, Tiger noted things had come “full circle.”
“It’s come full circle,” Tiger said, per USA Today. “It’s a special feeling.”
Tiger’s two children come from his marriage to ex-wife Ellen Nordegren. Ellen called Tiger a “great father” in a 2014 interview with People.
“I have moved on and I am in a good place,” Ellen told People. “My relationship with Tiger is centered around our children and we are doing really good – we really are – and I am so happy that is the case. He is a great father.”
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Tiger Woods’ Family a Big Part of Masters Win in 2019