Tiger Woods tells of family escape

Asked what he was thinking during the mark of respect - when he folded his arms, shut his eyes and lowered his head, - the 29-year-old said: "For me personally I was more thankful. My Mom was in the building across the street, so I was more than thankful she was still here. It could very easily have been tragic for me."

Mrs Woods, who was born in Thailand, was watching the world No 1 at St Andrews yesterday, but her son explained that he didn't find out about her escape until Wednesday. Woods was in Ireland on a fishing trip at the time of the atrocity and did not meet up with Kultida until earlier this week when he arrived to compete. But still she did not tell her only child how close she had been and it was left to Woods's coach, Hank Haney, to relay the news on the eve of the competition.

"That's typical of Mom," he said, "typical of my family actually. We just don't do that. I've talked to her about it, but she hasn't said a whole lot. I don't know where she was or which bomb it was that she was near."

The two-minute silence was the first time in the 145-year history of The Open that play has been suspended as a mark of respect. Play stopped 30 seconds before the hooter sounded at midday to ensure no one was preparing to take a shot.