This is truly awesome. Tiger Woods, 44, had the most incredible thing happen to him at the Genesis Invitational in Los Angeles, California on Thursday, February 13. A lot of this tournament related to the unfortunate passing of Kobe Bryant, especially with it taking place miles from the helicopter crash site where he, his 13-year-old daughter Gianna, and seven other people tragically lost their lives on January 26. It also marked the first time that the golf legend played professionally since Kobe’s death. Oh, and one other thing happened: Tiger drained an eagle putt that was exactly 24 feet, 8 inches long — both numbers Bryant wore with the Lakers (SEE CLIP HERE). WHOA! “It’s ironic, isn’t it?” he said after his first round. “I didn’t know about the putt being that long.”
Social media went into hysterics after witnessing the amazing move. “Golfing Gods are working. Total respect for Tiger and Mamba,” one wrote while another chimed in with, “How fitting. The goat did it for the goat,” referencing Tiger and Kobe being the greatest in their respective sports. Others simply praised Tiger on a job well done on Thursday. “Great opening eagle on this tournament! Go Tiger Woods! Round of 69 today!”
Tributes for Kobe, Gianna and the seven others continue to pour in although Tiger’s version is the epitome of the word unique. Some celebs have gone the distance with their love of the NBA star by getting ink permanently tattooed on their body. The Game, 40, revealed his number 8 ink that he got on his forehead on Wednesday, February 12. It’s the second tribute tattoo that the “How We Do” rapper has on his body. It follows the one he got for Nipsey Hussle after the rapper was gunned down in Los Angeles last year.
LeBron James, 35, Kobe’s longtime teammate and pal, also got a tattoo in honor of him in the days since his passing. The ink is on his left thigh and appears to be a Black mamba, the fast-moving snake that became Kobe’s nickname. LeBron was seen crying his eyes out shortly after news of Kobe’s passing broke.