Tiger Woods wrote an inspiring letter to a boy who was bullied for stuttering

Sophie Gustafson, a Swedish pro golfer who has a stutter, is helping guide a boy named Dillon through a tough time. She recently told Golf Digest how the 12-year-old is being bullied because of his own issues with stuttering, and it’s led to a suicide attempt.

Woods got wind of it, and reached out to Ron Sirak, the author of the Golf Digest piece. Sirak gave him Dillon’s address.

Immediately I heard from the Woods camp asking for the boy’s address. Then, on Sunday, I got this text message from Sophie:

“Tiger sent Dillon a letter and told him he also stuttered when he was younger,” Sophie wrote. “He’s ecstatic. We did good Ron.”

The letter read:

“Dear Dillon,

Someone told me that you like watching me play golf. I really appreciate that, and I alway want to say how proud I am of you.”

“I know what’s it’s like to be different and to sometimes not fit in. I also stuttered as a child and I would talk to my dog and he would sit there and listen until he fell asleep. I also took a class for two years to help me, and I finally learned to stop.”

“I was younger than most of the kids I competed against and often I was the only minority player in the field. But, I didn’t let that stop me, and I think it even inspired me to work harder. I know you can do that too.

You have a great family, and big fans like me on your side.”

Photos via Boston Globe and Getty