Remembering the night Tiger Woods' mom accidentally called him at 2 a.m.

While playing the Omega Dubai Desert Classic in 2017, Tiger Woods got a rude awakening on his first evening ahead of the event.

Every son might love getting a call from his mom, but not at 2 a.m. That’s when Tiger’s mother, Kultida, called him for a wee chat.

“I'm feeling pretty good. I'm tired,” Woods said before the first day of play. “My mom called me about 2 in the morning last night and woke me up, and asked me how I was doing. I said, ‘Mom, you realize there's a nine-hour time difference?’" And so I'll get a good rest this afternoon and be ready for tomorrow.”"

Woods had flown commercial from Los Angeles to Dubai, a 17-hour trip, and was looking forward to some shut-eye before teeing it up in the Pro-Am alongside former R&A chief executive Peter Dawson. So a catch-up with his Mom, however dutiful, wasn’t what he had in mind.

Although he went to bed early the following night, Woods struggled in the tournament, shooting a 75 in the opening round before withdrawing from the event. Sergio Garcia went on to win.

(Editor's note: This story was updated after the passing of Kultida on Feb. 4, 2025.)

This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Remembering the night Tiger Woods' mom accidentally called him at 2 a.m.