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'Excuse me?' Tiger Woods speechless after hearing of friend Kobe Bryant's death moments after final round

January 28, 2020

News of basketball great Kobe Bryant's death in a helicopter crash spread quickly yesterday but close friend Tiger Woods was unaware of the tragedy until hours later.

Woods was playing his final round at the 2020 Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines when the accident happened.

He finished with a two-under 70 and moments after stepping off the 18th, caddie Joe LaCava delivered the news - a heartbreaking moment caught on camera.

"I have something shocking to tell you," LaCava began.

"Kobe Bryant died in a helicopter crash this morning."

The information took Woods back.

"Excuse me?" the golfer responded.

LaCava then went into more detail about the incident as the pair walked off before Woods gave an interview minutes later about his late friend, commonly referred to as 'The Black Mamba'.

"I didn't know until Joey just told me coming off the 18th green," Woods told CBS Sports.

"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," Woods added. "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."

Woods and Bryant had plenty in common in their sporting careers - both became superstars at a young age, dominated for an extended length of time and displayed an unwavering drive to win.

Woods said that passion is what he'll remember about Bryant.

"[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."

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