Emotional moment Tiger Woods finds out Kobe Bryant has died in helicopter crash after playing in Farmers Insurance Open
TIGER WOODS revealed he felt "unbelievably sad" after learning of the tragic news of Kobe Bryant's death just moments after finishing his round.
LA Lakers fan Woods, 44, was competing at the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines in California where he finished tied-ninth on Sunday.
He heard shouts of "Do it for Mamba" - Bryant's nickname - during his round, but it was not until he stepped off the final hole that Woods' caddie Joe LaCava told him what had happened to the NBA icon.
Woods was emotional and clearly shaken as he reacted to the devastating passing.
He said: "I didn't know until Joey just told me coming off the 18th green.
"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. 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."
Bryant, 41, his daughter Gianna, 13, and seven others were killed in a helicopter crash on Sunday as they headed to basketball practice.
The chopper came down after getting into trouble flying in thick fog in California.
The pilot - named locally as Ara Zobayan - was trying to turn the aircraft when it smashed into hills of Las Virgenes Canyon, which is home to celebrities including the Kardashians.
Woods - who was playing near San Diego, just 140 miles down the west coast from the crash site - is a lifelong Lakers fan, the team Bryant starred for throughout his 20-year career, winning five NBA titles.
Both Woods and Bryant were global stars by the age of 21, helped transform golf and basketball respectively and are recognised as among the greatest players in their sports' histories.
California-born Woods - who won his 15th major championship at the 2019 Masters - added: "I didn't really see him that often. But every now and again, he would reach out, I would reach out. But this is unbelievable.
"We really connected more on the mental side of it, the prep, how much it takes to be prepared. For me, I don't have to react like he does, we can take our time, but you've still got to pay attention to the details, and that's what he did better than probably any other player in NBA history. He paid attention to the details, the little things.
"The amount of hours he spent in the gym in the off-season and during the summers to work on shots and do all the different things, it looked like it came natural to him on the court during game time.
"But he spent more hours looking at film and trying to figure out what's the best way to become better. That's where he and I really connected because we're very similar.
"He came into the league, and I turned pro [1996] right around the same time, and we had our 20-year run together. It's shocking.
"[I'll remember] the fire. He burned so competitively hot. 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 any time 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."