section_path: Background and family
section_name: Background and family
paragraph_text: Background and family
  
  Woods was born on December 30, 1975, in Cypress, California, to Earl and Kultida "Tida" Woods. He is their only child, though he has two half-brothers and a half-sister from his father's first marriage. Earl was a retired U.S. Army officer and Vietnam War veteran. Earl was born to African-American parents and was also said to be of European and Native American descent. Kultida (née Punsawad) is originally from Thailand, where Earl met her when he was on a tour of duty there in 1968. She is of mixed Thai, Chinese, and Dutch ancestry. In 2002, ESPN claimed: "For the record, he is one-quarter Thai, one-quarter Chinese, one-quarter Caucasian, one-eighth African American and one-eighth Native American." Tiger has described his ethnic make-up as " Cablinasian " (a syllabic abbreviation he coined from Caucasian, Black, American Indian, and Asian).
  
  Woods's first name, Eldrick, was chosen by his mother because it began with "E" (for Earl) and ended with "K" (for Kultida). His middle name Tont is a traditional Thai name. He was nicknamed Tiger in honor of his father's friend, South Vietnamese Colonel Vuong Dang Phong, who had also been known as Tiger. Woods has a niece, Cheyenne Woods, who played for the Wake Forest University golf team and turned professional in 2012 when she made her pro debut in the LPGA Championship.
  
  Earl Woods died on May 3, 2006. Kultida Woods died on February 4, 2025. Woods paid tribute to his mother after her death, saying "without her none of my personal achievements would have been possible."
  
  Woods was born on December 30, 1975, in Cypress, California, to Earl and Kultida "Tida" Woods. He is their only child, though he has two half-brothers and a half-sister from his father's first marriage. Earl was a retired U.S. Army officer and Vietnam War veteran. Earl was born to African-American parents and was also said to be of European and Native American descent. Kultida (née Punsawad) is originally from Thailand, where Earl met her when he was on a tour of duty there in 1968. She is of mixed Thai, Chinese, and Dutch ancestry. In 2002, ESPN claimed: "For the record, he is one-quarter Thai, one-quarter Chinese, one-quarter Caucasian, one-eighth African American and one-eighth Native American." Tiger has described his ethnic make-up as " Cablinasian " (a syllabic abbreviation he coined from Caucasian, Black, American Indian, and Asian).
  
  Woods's first name, Eldrick, was chosen by his mother because it began with "E" (for Earl) and ended with "K" (for Kultida). His middle name Tont is a traditional Thai name. He was nicknamed Tiger in honor of his father's friend, South Vietnamese Colonel Vuong Dang Phong, who had also been known as Tiger. Woods has a niece, Cheyenne Woods, who played for the Wake Forest University golf team and turned professional in 2012 when she made her pro debut in the LPGA Championship.
  
  Earl Woods died on May 3, 2006. Kultida Woods died on February 4, 2025. Woods paid tribute to his mother after her death, saying "without her none of my personal achievements would have been possible."