The tragedy hadn’t really sunk in when Tiger Woods was asked about the death of his friend Kobe Bryant.
As he walked off the green at Torrey Pines, a shocked Woods can be heard replying to his caddie Joe LaCava ‘excuse me’ when informed about the helicopter crash that not only took the life of the NBA legend, but that of eight other people, including his 13-year-old daughter, Gianna.
“I didn’t know until Joey just told me coming off the 18th green,” Woods told CBS Sports after the round.
“I didn’t understand why people in the gallery were saying, ‘Do it for Mamba.’ Now I understand. It’s a shocker to everyone. I’m unbelievably sad, and it’s one of the more tragic days. The reality is setting in because I was just told about five minutes ago.
“Life is very fragile as we all know,” added Woods. “You can be gone at any given time and we have to appreciate the moments that we have. I just can’t imagine what his family’s going through right now.”
The 44-year-old – a Los Angeles Lakers fan – watched Bryant rule his own sport for 20 years. He was a five-time NBA champion and two-time Olympic gold medallist and has since had his two shirts – eight and 24 -retired by the Lakers.
“[I’ll remember] the fire. He burned so competitively hot,” Woods said.
“The desire to win. He brought it each and every night on both ends of the floor. Not too many guys can say that throughout NBA history.
“He’d lock up on D. He was obviously dominant on the offensive side, but anytime he was in the game, he’d take on their best player and shut him down for all 48 minutes. That was one of the more impressive things throughout his entire career. And then when he ruptured his Achilles and went to the foul line and made his shots, that’s tough.”
Sportsmen and women from around the world also paid tribute to Bryant, while at the Grammy awards in Los Angeles’ Staples Centre, Alicia Keys spoke emotionally saying: “We’re standing here, heartbroken, in the house that Kobe Bryant built,” while a spotlight illuminated his Lakers jerseys.
Meanwhile, in the NBA Sunday games, teams made touching gestures on the court by letting the shot clock expire for 24-second violations on each of their first possessions, which received applause from the crowd.
