Tiger On Kobe
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Clearly still in shock from just having learned the news just minutes after walking off Torrey Pines’ 18th green, Tiger Woods composed his thoughts following the 2020 Farmers Insurance Open final round.
Here is what he said to the gathered writers and local television crews:
Q. I'm sure you heard about Kobe Bryant. So what did Kobe mean to you and what did that news feel like when you heard it?
TIGER WOODS: Well, I was saying to Amanda over here, I just heard of it from Joey when we were coming off the 18 green. I didn't understand why they were yelling "Do it for Mamba" on the back nine. People yell things all the time, so I was just, you know, plodding along, doing my own thing. Then when Joey told me that here, it's unbelievable, the reality that he's no longer here.
LeBron breaks his record and he passes today. For all of us for me, I grew up a diehard Laker fan, always have been my entire life. That's all I remember, and he was part of the most historic franchise in all of the NBA. As I was telling Amanda, what made him so impressive is that he was dominant on the offensive side, yeah, we know that, but he would lock up on D. He played their best guard and shut 'em down for all 48 minutes. That's what made him so special, he played both ends of the court. There are maybe two guys, three guys in the entire NBA history that you can say that, that would do that. He was up for that challenge. And one of the more impressive things that I've ever witnessed is when he ruptured his Achilles and he went to the foul line, made his shots. Ultimate toughness, ultimate competitor, and one of the most shocking, tragic days that I've ever been a part of in a very quick span here.
Q. What kind of relationship did you have? Were you friends?
TIGER WOODS: We were closer when he was probably playing and I had a home in Newport and we would work out together and hang a little bit, but when I sold that house and lived full time in Florida, I didn't really see him that often. But every now and again he would reach out, I would reach out to him. But this is unbelievable.
Q. As a father, the news of also his daughter being in the plane, does that hit extra hard for you?
TIGER WOODS: It does, it does. I just can't imagine what their entire family's going through right now. It's just shocking. I mean, as I said, I probably just found out maybe seven, eight, nine minutes ago, so the reality is setting in very quickly here.
Q. Was it Joe that told you?
TIGER WOODS: Joe told me coming off 18 green. As I said, I didn't understand why people were yelling "Do it for Mamba."
Kobe’s most recent Tweet about Tiger from last April:
