Tiger Woods and his 15-year-old son Charlie made five consecutive birdies on the back nine on Saturday for a 13-under 59 in the scramble format, giving them a share of the PNC Championship lead in Woods’ first competition since your back surgery. in September.
Woods said he scheduled that surgery, his sixth on his lower back in the last 10 years, to ensure he would recover in time to play with his son for the fifth straight year.
This is the first time they have shared the lead after the first round, along with the last two champions: Bernhard Langer and his son Jason, and Vijay Singh and his son Qass.
Woods made a series of good shots, including an inch-long corner on the short par-4 seventh, but otherwise downplayed his game by suggesting he still had a lot of rust. It was more about spending 36 holes on an active day at the Ritz-Carlton Club Orlando with his son, a sophomore at the Benjamin School in North Palm Beach.
His daughter, Sam, caddied for her father for the second year in a row. His mother, Elin, was among those in the gallery at a tournament that revolved around family.
“We’re trying to hit each and every shot for each other and for the ham and egg,” Woods said. And I think we did very well for most of the day. We helped each other, which was great. And Charlie made a lot of putts today.
Tiger Woods returned to golf Saturday at the PNC Championship with his 15-year-old son Charlie.
Tiger and Charlie have participated in the family competition for the past five years.
It helped to play in the same group with former British Open champion Justin Leonard and his son, Luke, a senior and Charlie’s teammate at the Benjamin School.
Langer extended his amazing record on the PGA Tour Champions this year by winning for the 18th consecutive season. He and his son made eight birdies in a nine-hole stretch midway through the round, and had an eagle on the 14th hole.
Singh and his son, who won this event in 2022, shot 28 on the back nine.
“There are so many teams in the search,” Langer said. “It’s the game of whoever is within three or four shots of the leaders, which is most of the field.”
Padraig Harrington and his son Paddy, and Tom Lehman and his son Sean, were on 60, 12 under par. The Lehmans appeared to be leading when they were around the green on the par-5 18th, but then it took them four shots to get behind. the scramble format, taking bogey.
Having Team Woods in the mix is enough to turn heads.
“It’s great for the tournament and happy for them,” Langer said. “It should be fun for the crowd tomorrow to come out and watch everyone play.”
Woods has not competed since the British Open in July.
Tiger scheduled his sixth back surgery earlier this year to return in time for competition.
For the Woods team, it’s about not looking too far into the future. The father knows this very well with his record of 82 titles on the PGA Tour. The son got a lesson in that this summer.
Charlie Woods qualified for his first American Junior Amateur, arrived in Oakland Hills but didn’t stay long. He shot rounds of 82-80 and did not reach match play. He also fell short in Monday’s qualifying for the PGA Tour’s Cognizant Classic and in the US Open qualifying.
But he said US Junior was his biggest learning moment.
“It’s about focusing on my game,” Charlie said. “I was so focused on winning and how I played that I realized how I was going to win instead of how I was going to hit the shot. And it built up and that led to two very, very bad rounds of golf. But live and learn. ‘
His father heard the answer and nodded. “Learn,” Woods said.
On the eve of the tournament, Woods shared how difficult his recovery from surgery had been and stressed that he is there simply to compete alongside Charlie.
“That was one of the reasons I had surgery earlier, so I could have the best opportunity to be with Charlie and be able to play,” Woods said.
“I’m not competitive right now, but I just want to be able to have the experience again.” This has always been one of the highlights of the year for us as a family, and now we will be able to have that time together again.
‘I’m not going to feel what I’m used to feeling. Recovery has become the most difficult part. But as the rounds, weeks and months go by, it becomes more difficult.”
The PNC Championship is for players who have won a Major or The Players Championship and a member of their family. Annika Sorenstam plays with her son, while Nelly Korda plays with her father. Steve Stricker, winner of seven majors, plays with his daughter Izzy, a freshman at Wisconsin.