SHANGHAI, Nov 9: World number one Tiger Woods says his mother’s Buddhist beliefs and his father’s combat experience with the Green Berets during the Vietnam War are fundamental to his success on the golf course.

The 10-time major winner said his intense powers of concentration and fierce competitiveness on the golf course are a result of his Thai mother’s Buddhist influence and his father’s special forces’ tour in Vietnam.

“My mental approach to the game, my style of play probably comes from both my parents,” Woods, 29, said ahead of Thursday’s opening round of the five-million-dollar HSBC Champions tournament here.

“My mom being a Buddhist in a sense, obviously a very calm nature, my dad’s very competitive as well and he adds a different element to it as he was in the special forces, a Green Beret and he has that mindset, a very tough mindset and he certainly passed on that approach.

“He taught me techniques how to be tough and how to get tough on the golf course,” said the reigning Masters and British Open champion, who clinched the 2005 PGA tour money title last weekend with a career-best 10.6 million dollars.

“I was very lucky, fortunate to have parents who have been through all these things.”—AFP