Final Goodbye: Nelson Mandela with 10 sporting legends

4) Tiger Woods and Ernie Els

Nelson Mandela with Ernie Els and Tiger Woods from 2003

South African golfer, Ernie Els has met Nelson Mandela on several occasions. On Ernie Els’ website, he recalls the first time he met Mandela in 1994. Els also said that Mandela called him after every tournament he had ever won. Els further expresses Mandela’s presence on his website saying: “You cannot say anything bad about the man. By any measure and in any time in history he can be regarded as a great man and a great statesman – a man of wisdom and compassion, too.There was something magical about him… He was an unbelievable guy and the guys who lived in that generation will really miss him.”

Tiger Woods met Mandela 15 years ago, “I went down there to play Sun City, and he invited us to his home. And my father and I went to have lunch with him. It still gives me chills to this day, thinking about it,” said Woods. “The energy that he has, that he exudes, is unlike any person I’ve ever met. And it was an honour to meet him at his home. And that’s an experience that I will never, ever forget.” Woods learned about Mandela’s death whilst playing in the 2013 Northwestern Mutual World Challenge, he told reporters, “It’s sad, sad for anyone who has gotten the chance to not only meet him but been influenced by him… It’s a sad day for many people around the world.”