Kultida Woods is being memorialized this week by the Genesis Invitational, the tournament her son, Tiger Woods, hosts, and there is symbolism in the move.

Nine days after her death was announced, the PGA Tour said Thursday a white flag will be used on Torrey Pines’ seventh hole over the tournament’s four days, and both the color and the number honor Kultida Woods’ Buddhist faith. According to a Tour release, the color white symbolizes purity, wisdom and longevity, while the number seven is tied to seven factors of enlightenment.

Woods’ death was announced publicly last Tuesday in a social media release. Tiger Woods had initially entered the Genesis Invitational, then withdrew on Monday, three days before the tournament’s start.

“I planned to tee it up this week, but I’m just not ready,” Woods wrote on social media in announcing his withdrawal. “I did my best to prepare, knowing it’s what my Mom would have wanted, but I’m still processing her loss.

“Thanks to everyone who has reached out. I hope to be at Torrey later in the week and appreciate the continued kindness since my Mom’s passing.”

Last week, in announcing her death, the 15-time major winner had written this:

“It is with heartfelt sadness that I want to share that my dear mother, Kultida Woods, passed away early this morning. My Mom was a force of nature all her own, her spirit was simply undeniable. She was quick with the needle and a laugh. She was my biggest fan, greatest supporter, without her none of my personal achievements would have been possible. She was loved by so many,  but especially by her two grandchildren, Sam and Charlie. Thank you all for your support, prayers and privacy at this difficult time for me and my family. Love you Mom.”

In his pre-tournament press conference on Wednesday, Rory McIlroy was sympathetic to Woods after hearing he wouldn’t play this week.

“Very understandable,” McIlroy said. “He’s had a lot go on in his life unfortunately over the last couple of weeks. Yeah, I just think with his mom passing and then everything that he needs to go through to get ready to play a tournament, yeah, look, it’s unfortunate that he’s not here and with us, but ultimately it’s obviously the right call.”

To read more on Kultida Woods, please click here or scroll immediately below for a story written by GOLF’s Michael Bamberger headlined “Tiger Woods’ mother had a singular focus: raising a world-beating son.”

Most of us cannot readily name Big Jack’s mother. Helen Nicklaus died on the eve of the 2000 PGA Championship at Valhalla, a course her son designed. Fewer yet can name Young Tom’s mother, Agnes Morris, who died in 1876, the year her husband, Old Tom, had a ho-hum T4 finish at the Open Championship on the Old Course, where he was the greenkeeper. But everyone in golf knows Tiger’s mother, Tida. The most famous mother in golf.

She was Kultida Punsawad Woods on her legal documents but wherever she went in this world, over the course of her remarkable, globe-crossing 78 years, she was Tida. Tida Woods died Tuesday; Tiger did not disclose a cause. In a statement, Tiger referred to her as my dear mother and Mom. But when he received the Bob Jones Award, the USGA’s highest honor, at the U.S. Open in Pinehurst last year, Woods called her Mommy. She was right there in the first row, alongside her only two grandchildren, Sam, and her kid brother, Charlie.

Tida was always in the first row. She was short, feisty, direct, strong in every way, and if you were in her way, watch out. She was in the first row when Woods made that painful public apology in a ballroom in the clubhouse at the TPC Sawgrass in 2010. She was in the first row, right behind the 18th green, when Tiger won his first Masters in 1997. She was in the first row when Tiger was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2022. She had one husband (Earl), one child (Eldrick) and seemingly one purpose, to raise a take-no-prisoners son.

Tiger grew up in a tidy suburban house in Cypress, Calif., choking with cigarette smoke (his father) and the smells of Thai cooking (his mother). Inside, the house was not like the others in their development. Tiger has said it a thousand times: his father, the former lieutenant colonel, was a softie. His mother packed heat. In the 1970s and 1980s, she drove Tiger in her Plymouth Duster to junior golf tournaments all over Southern California, and she wasn’t there to make friends. She was there to watch her son hoist trophies, and he did.

Tiger’s father had the mentality of a Black man who knew firsthand the pain of Jim Crow and a segregated America. Tiger’s mother, who came to the United States from Thailand, had an immigrant’s bring-home-straight-As mentality. Over the past 25 years or so, as Tiger’s outsized success has become a simple fact of sporting life, that part of the equation has been forgotten. But the blending of cultures is Tiger’s true origin story.

Earl and Tida never divorced but they led separate lives for years. If there was any one thing that kept them together it was Tiger’s golf skill and his promise. In word and deed, his devotion to both of them is obvious. It was a stunning sight to see Tida in the Augusta National clubhouse on Masters Sunday in 2019 as her son played the back nine, trying to win his fifth green coat. She sat with friends and her grandchildren and stared at an elevated TV. As the room murmured and cheered various shots, she was a study in impassivity.

With the outcome semi-clear she walked from the clubhouse, got her five-foot self over a security chain without assistance and stood on a hillock beside the 18th green. In Butler Cabin, in an interview with Jim Nantz, Tiger remembered the trips in the Duster.

Tiger has talked in general terms about what he learned from his mother, a practicing Buddhist, but he has kept private any details of how it shaped him. Tiger has always given the appearance of being a child of the North American experience, playing Little League baseball, rooting for the Raiders, going to Vegas. Someday we may find out that his Eastern side — his Buddhist side, his Tida side — opened a window to the game’s mysteries in ways that defy post-round interviews. Be the ball times infinity.

Something has to explain winning a Masters by 12 and a U.S. Open by 15 — beyond skill. Skill alone gets you a two-shot win.

Let’s not play Kumbaya yet. When Tiger beat Davis Love in an early-career event, Tida said, “Tiger steal his heart.” At Presidents Cups and Ryder Cups, Tida didn’t pal around with Penta Love and Mary Mickelson. Her whole life seemed to be her devotion to Woods, and later to Tiger’s children.

When Helen Nicklaus died, just before the start of the 2000 PGA Championship, Nicklaus decided to play in the tournament, saying that’s what his mother would have wanted to do. For the first two rounds, he played with Woods, who went on to win that week, on Nicklaus’s course. The summer of 2000. Tiger was on fire. Now when Tiger (perhaps?) plays later this month, at the Genesis Invitational, he will again be following in Nicklaus’s footsteps, trying to play tournament golf in the face of grief.

Unlike Helen Nicklaus and almost every other golfer’s mother, Tiger’s mother was often in view of TV cameras. Not that she welcomed it. She didn’t talk to reporters very much, and when she was quoted, she wasn’t often happy about it. She did talk to a reporter after her son’s public apology, when his private life was revealed to the world and his life imploded. She saw it for what it was, an act of media spying on a person who wasn’t an elected official, wasn’t a clergyman, wasn’t a teacher. She was angry. But she also saw something much bigger going on.

“Buddhism teaches you to go deep inside your soul and look through for yourself and correct the bad thing to be a good thing,” she said. We really don’t know much about Tiger’s private life and private thoughts, but we know a lot about his public life, his golfing life. As a golfer, he was always trying to turn weaknesses into strengths, and he did it in ways few others have.

Eighty-two wins, 15 majors, membership in the World Golf Hall of Fame, winner of the Bob Jones Award. No Tida, no any of that.

Tiger Woods has pulled out this week’s Genesis Invitational, as he is “still processing” his mother’s death, Kultida.

Tiger Woods has pulled out this week’s Genesis Invitational, as he is “still processing” his mother’s death, Kultida.

The 15-time major champion has admitted he is “not ready” to return to golf.

Kultida’s death was confirmed on February 4.

Three days later, the organisers of the Genesis Invitational announced Woods’ participation in the event at Torrey Pines.

“I planned to tee it up this week, but I’m just not ready,” Woods wrote on social media.

“I did my best to prepare, knowing it’s what my mom would have wanted, but I’m still processing her loss.

“Thanks to everyone who has reached out. I hope to be at Torrey later in the week and appreciate the continued kindness since my mom’s passing.”

Woods has not featured a PGA Tour event since last year’s Open at Royal Troon in July.

The American has not played regularly since being involved in a car accident in February 2021 and underwent more surgery on his lower back in September.

Does Bernhard Langer know something about Tiger Woods that others don’t? The battle between the Langers & Woods in December 2024 was one of the most exciting rounds of golf last year. Fans were spellbound at watching the GOAT playing so well after years of health struggles. Young Charlie Woods also brought his magic to the course with some excellent strokeplay. At the other end, Bernhard Langer and his son; Jason also fought valiantly with the Woods till the very last minute before overtaking them to win the 2024 PNC Championship.

As great as it was to see them play on the field, one thing was evident, Tiger Woods will never perform at the same level again. Despite showing glimpses of his former self, Mr. T has evidently aged. Not just in terms of skill, but his body has also shown limitations. Hence, it won’t come as a surprise when Woods definitely hangs up his boots and bids adieu to professional golf. At least on the competitive professional level. But fans might still see him play in the PGA Tour Champions. And according to Bernhard Langer, it might be much sooner than we can imagine.

Age is still a criterion that Tiger Woods doesn’t meet to join the Seniors Tour. But the GOAT is only a few months away from surpassing that. As shared by NUCLR GOLF, “🚨👀🐅 Bernhard Langer says we can expect to see Tiger Woods making appearances on The Champions Tour. Langer played with Woods at the PNC and made the comments at the Chubb Classic”. It seems that Woods has already discussed the possibility of joining the Champions Tour with Langer.

The tweet also included comments from Bernhard Langer about the situation. He said, “I’m convinced he will play several events. Depends how many. I’m going to gradually get older and older here, and I may not be at the very top of my game when he comes out, but he always moves the needle”. We’re definitely getting closer to the day when Tiger Woods will make his debut on the Champions Tour. At least Langer believes so.

And if he does, there is no doubt he will “move the needle” and make the Champions Tour immensely popular. It’s only a matter of time before he is qualified to join the Tour. Speaking of the 82X PGAT winner’s eligibility, NUCLR GOLF also mentioned, “Woods turns 50 this December and will be eligible to compete.” That means, 2026 might be the year fans might see Tiger Woods winning titles again.

Many other golfers have also spoken of Tiger Woods’s eventual shift to the Seniors Tour. Let’s see what they had to say.

Tiger Woods to dominate the Champions Tour

There is no question about Tiger Woods being a favorite among most golfers and fans around the world. So watching him go back to his winning ways will only please them. Even if it is in the Seniors Tour. Mark Calcavecchia recently spoke up about the possibility of watching Woods on the Champions Tour. He even predicted that the GOAT is equipped to break the 48-win record on the Tour. In fact, the 64-year-old also said that Woods might do it with 48 consecutive wins in the Seniors Tour.

Rocco Mediate had also spoken up about having Tiger Woods in the PGA Tour Seniors. He said, “I like it noisy. I like more people”, as he discussed the kind of impact the 15x major winner will have in the league. Hence, Mediate “can’t wait” to have his U.S. Open rival join the Champions Tour and bring an array of fans along with him to make it more exciting.

Do you also think that more fans will start watching the PGA Tour Champions once Tiger Woods makes the move? Let us know in the comments section.

Meeting Tiger Woods is a big deal, and everyone’s experience is unique. Some people get a quick handshake and a photo, while others get to have a more in-depth conversation about golf, life, and everything in between. Either way, meeting Woods leaves a lasting impression. Just ask Blades Brown, who still can’t believe his luck.  “The handler that Woods has, she was like, ‘Hey, you need a picture with Tiger?’ And I was like, ‘Do I wanna get a picture with Tiger? Tiger Woods? Of course, I wanna get a picture with Tiger Woods”, he said recalling the time he was hanging out, and then suddenly he was being offered a chance to meet Woods.

He describes the experience of sneaking past security guards to get to Woods as being part of a “secret operation,” and it’s clear that the excitement of the moment has stayed with him. As Brown recounts his encounter with Woods, it’s easy to get caught up in his enthusiasm. He’s like a kid in a candy store, reliving the thrill of meeting his hero. Whether he’s talking about the handler’s offer of a photo or the surreal experience of meeting Woods himself, Brown’s enthusiasm is undeniable.

As Brown looks back on the encounter, one thing that really stands out is shaking Woods’s hand. “I cannot tell you anything about what I told Woods or what he said to me, but I do remember one thing – his hand felt like two 14-ounce ribeyes. That’s the only way I can describe his hand. That’s so weird… the only thing I remember about meeting Woods was his hands.” It’s a quirky detail, but it shows just how memorable the experience was for Brown. Even now, he’s still grinning from ear to ear as he talks about meeting Woods, and it’s clear that the experience will stay with him for a long time.

He’s still talking about it, still reliving the experience, and still grinning from ear to ear. But as much as Brown is enjoying his time as a pro in golf he is also cautious about the steps he takes next.

Where is Blades Brown headed next?

The golf world is abuzz with excitement about rising stars Charlie Woods and Blades Brown. Charlie Woods recently made headlines with his first-ever hole-in-one at the 2024 PNC Championship, while Blades Brown has been impressing fans with his incredible performances, including a record-breaking 8-under 64 at The American Express. But what’s next for Blades Brown? He’s been weighing his options, and it’s clear that he’s got a tough decision to make. Should he follow the traditional path and attend college, or should he dive straight into the PGA Tour? It’s a decision that could make or break his career and one that he’s clearly given a lot of thought.

So, what’s the verdict? Blades Brown has decided to forgo college and dive straight into the PGA Tour. It wasn’t an easy decision, he admits. “It was such a difficult decision,” he said on the GOLF’s Subpar podcast. “Some people say college is the best part of their lives, right?” But despite the uncertainty, Brown is eager to take the leap and see where his talents take him. He’s clearly got the skills and the drive to succeed, and it’ll be exciting to see how he fares on the PGA Tour. As he embarks on this new journey, all eyes will be on Blades Brown to see what’s next for this rising golf star.

It’s been 25 years since Tiger Woods’ historic 2000 season. As 2025 unfolds, we’ll look back on each of Woods’ starts, including his 10 worldwide wins.

First up…

Tournament: Buick Invitational
Where: Torrey Pines GC (South/North), La Jolla, California
Dates: Feb. 10-13

Tiger’s finish: T-2
Tiger’s scorecard: 71-68-67-68–274 (-14)

Setting the stage: Woods is coming off his sixth straight official victory on the PGA Tour, at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am. The streak equals Ben Hogan’s run in 1948, though is still five more consecutive wins shy of Byron Nelson’s record, set in 1945. It’s a quick turnaround for Woods and those heading down from Pebble, as inclement weather pushed the finish to Monday. Woods has a ton of momentum, though, after rallying from seven shots back of Matt Gogel with eight holes to play, holing out for eagle at the par-4 15th hole down the stretch and eventually winning by two shots. Upon arriving at Torrey, Woods says, “It’s a tremendous task that I have ahead of me if I am going to be the one [to break Byron Nelson’s record. … Whoever it is, you are going to have to play well for not only a long period of time, but you have to get lucky. For instance, if I shoot 64 on Monday and Matt Gogel goes out and shoots even par on the back, I don’t have a chance.”

Check in every week for the unfiltered opinions of our writers and editors as they break down the hottest topics in the sport, and join the conversation by tweeting us at @golf_com. This week, we review Tiger Woods’ TGL debut, dissect LIV Golf’s new TV deal, predict who will have the best season on LIV, and review Blades Brown’s pro debut.

Tiger Woods made his TGL debut on Tuesday, as his Jupiter Links team lost to Los Angeles in the second edition of the new tech-infused league. What were your thoughts on Tiger the player and Tiger the entertainer?

James Colgan, news and features editor (@jamescolgan26): I thought Tiger proved why the TGL built its business around him. He is interesting enough for the world to pay attention no matter what he’s doing. That’s insanely valuable for golf in any form, including simulator golf.

Josh Schrock, associate news editor (@Schrock_And_Awe): There’s no question people will keep tuning in to watch Tiger mash balls into a simulator screen. We only get to see him four or five times a year otherwise. But Tiger the entertainer needs some work. His best on-mic moments can’t be him crying laughing at Kevin Kisner’s hosel rocket, and saying his mom is booing him. The league needs more from him on that end to have long-term growth.

Alan Bastable, executive editor (@alan_bastable): Dream scenario was the little-walking-required sim league bringing out the best in Tiger. That did not happen. Instead, Woods looked ordinary at best…well, as ordinary as Tiger Woods can look, anyway. His speed seemed okay, but his iron play and short game left much to be desired. Tiger doubling over in laughter after Kiz’s bunker botch was fun if only because it showed us Tiger in a state in which we rarely see him. But goes without saying TGL will need more of Woods reacting to good shots than bad ones if this thing is going to take flight.

Two weeks ago, TGL’s long-awaited debut drew 919,000 average viewers on ESPN, and Tiger’s debut last week pushed that number to over a million. Now that viewers know what TGL is (and won’t see Tiger this week), what do you expect to see from the ratings? Can TGL continue to increase viewership? How much will we learn from this coming week’s numbers?

Colgan: The biggest questions for the TGL are still ahead of them. Will people continue to care when the novelty and Tiger factors are gone? The ratings are going to be lower, but by how much? I would say anything in the 700-800K range again this week would be a win.

Schrock: I agree, James. It wasn’t a shock that over a million people tuned in to watch the Cat walk out to “Eye of the Tiger” and goof around with Max Homa and Kevin Kisner. I expect they’ll be big numbers in two weeks when Tiger is back and faces Rory’s team. But how many people are going to watch Justin Thomas, Patrick Cantlay and Billy Horschel against Rickie Fowler, Cameron Young and Matt Fitzpatrick? If there’s no massive drop-off this week, then the TGL should feel good about its chances of building out some type of audience while working out the kinks.

Bastable: Hard to imagine a scenario in which this week’s numbers don’t take a hit, and not just because of Tiger’s absence. If you tuned in to the first two events, you witnessed two drama-starved blowouts and also puzzling looks from world-class players who watched seemingly well stuck wedge shots miss their marks by 10 or 15 yards. Both of those developments might give viewers pause about returning for a third straight week.

Speaking of TV viewership, LIV Golf will open the 2025 season with a long-awaited TV deal with Fox, one that ensures more than half of this season’s schedule will air live on Fox or FS1 with additional rounds available on other Fox properties. While it’s obvious that it should boost LIV viewership numbers, how much of an impact do you believe it will have in eyeballs and increased interest? A little, or a lot?