NEW YORK -- Tiger Woods says the competitiveness he learned from his mother helped him overcome a childhood stutter.
In an interview with CBS' "60 Minutes" to be televised Sunday, the world's No. 1 golfer says, "The words got lost, you know, somewhere between the brain and the mouth. And it was very difficult, but I fought through it. I went to a school to try and get over that, and I just would work my tail off."
Woods had some extra help, too.
"I would talk to my dog and he would sit there and listen, and he'd fall asleep," Woods says. "I finally learned how to do that,
without stuttering all over myself."
Woods credits his parents with helping him become a top athlete.
His father, Earl, fought in Vietnam and has been battling cancer
the last two years. Woods missed the final practice round at The
Players Championship in Florida on Wednesday to check on him in
California.
His mother, Kutilda, was a strong influence as well.
"Mom was the one I was always afraid of," Wood says. "Yeah,
you have no idea how competitive my mom is. She would watch me
compete living every moment, live I mean die on every shot."