Tiger Woods back to competitive golf at PNC Championship

ORLANDO – Although competitors are availed of golf carts at the family-friendly PNC Championship, Tiger Woods walked for much of the pro-am Friday, when he made his first public appearance with a club in his hands since his September back surgery.

Playing in a pro-am group behind that of his son and teammate Charlie, Woods split the 18th fairway and walked to his ball, only to be kept waiting a few extra beats. Charlie, 15, had finished up and said his farewells to his pro-am partners but was taking a couple of extra practice putts on the green. Then he took a couple more.

Dad looked on, waiting, seemingly unperturbed.

“I think he's doing a great job,” Woods said of his son, and the burden of playing with such a famous last name. “In this day and age where you have so many different – everyone is basically media, with all the phones. Being constantly filmed and constantly people watching, that's just part of his generation, and that's part of the world that he has to maneuver through.

“I try and do the best job I possibly can as a parent,” he added. “I'm always here for him. But at the end of the day, I just want him to just be himself and live his own life.”

The Tiger-and-Charlie Show has been the story at every PNC since their first appearance in 2020, when Charlie was but a spindly kid. Tiger will turn 49 on Dec. 30. Charlie is a strapping high school sophomore whose team, The Benjamin School in Palm Beach, Florida, finished second in the most recent Florida state championship. He competes on the Florida PGA Junior Tour and won the South Florida PGA Junior Cup in July.

Luke Leonard, son of Justin, said on the Golf Channel on Friday that the one time he played with Tiger was the day Charlie beat his father for the first time. Woods smiled when asked to provide context on the circumstances of that day.

“Yeah, he beat me for nine holes,” Woods said. “He has yet to beat me for 18 holes. That day is coming; I'm just prolonging it for as long as I possibly can.”

This weekend will mark the fifth PNC start for the father-son duo, who tied for fifth last year. Team Woods finished T8 in 2022 and authored their career highlight together at the 2021 PNC, when in a scramble format they birdied 11 of their last 12 holes for a 57 – one off the tournament record – to finish second to Team Daly by two shots.

Charlie was the headliner that day in ’21 and continues to get bigger and better.

“His maturity,” Woods said of the biggest difference he’s seen, year-over-year. “He's grown so much since last year. He's put on 3 1/2, 4 inches in height. It's a moving target. He's got stronger, faster, heavier. He's a typical teenager.”

As for Woods, he did not play the recent Hero World Challenge, which he hosts, due to a lack of reps since his September microdiscectomy, his sixth.

And he is still not particularly sharp, Woods said Friday.

“I'm not competitive right now,” he said, admitting he wasn’t sure he would tee it up here until the 11th hour. “But I just want to be able to have the experience again.”

He’s had few highlights this year, competitively speaking. The winner of 82 PGA TOUR titles, including 15 majors, Woods started his season at The Genesis Invitational at The Riviera Country Club, which he also hosts, but withdrew in Round 2 with flu-like symptoms.

He made his record 24th consecutive cut at the Masters but was in pain as he shot 82-77 on the weekend to finish last among those who made the cut. He missed the cut at the PGA Championship, U.S. Open and The Open Championship.

It was time to go under the knife one more time.

Woods has completed four rounds just twice since the 2021 car accident in which he suffered fractures to his right leg, plus trauma to his right ankle. Doctors inserted a rod, screws and pins to stabilize Woods’ leg. He played that way, but plantar fasciitis necessitated another operation in 2023, after which he missed another 10 months.

At the very least, he has said of his most recent surgery, his quality of life is better, allowing him to be a better dad to his two kids and a better golf dad to Charlie.

“Yeah, my leg is what it is,” Woods said. “It's still here, and it is what it is. But this year I struggled a lot with my back, and it's a lot better, but I still have a long way to go.”