Team Woods seizes share of first-round lead at PNC Championship

ORLANDO, Fla. – Tiger Woods wasn’t perfect, competing for the first time since back surgery in September, but when he faltered son Charlie came through in the clutch.

Charlie hit a few loose iron shots, but Dad came through with pinpoint approaches for short birdie putts on holes 10, 14, 15 and 16.

Playing textbook “ham-and-egg” golf, and with Charlie pouring in putts and making birdies on his own ball at the 12th and 13th holes, Team Woods carded a 13-under 59 to grab a share of the lead at the family-first (Scramble format) PNC Championship.

Sam Alexis Woods, a senior at The Benjamin School, where Charlie, 15, is a sophomore, caddied for her father as Team Woods, Team Langer and Team Singh tied with 59s. A large throng of Benjamin School kids followed the Woods group cheering on not just Tiger and Charlie, but also their Benjamin School caddies.

How did it go?

Charlie: “I didn't hit it great, but Dad saved me on a couple of them and I rolled them in.”

Tiger: “It's a scramble, so we're trying to pull off each and every shot for each other, and to ham-and-egg, and I think we did that great pretty much the entire day.”

Charlie: “Yeah.”

Without any prompting, Tiger allowed that, “Charlie made pretty much most of the putts today.”

This is the fifth PNC start for Team Woods, and the first time they have led or co-led after Round 1. They have never won, with their best a runner-up to Team Daly in 2021.

Is it only a matter of time until they do?

“I hope so,” Tiger said. “We're right there.”

When a reporter noted he seems to be hitting his drives with plenty of pop, all things considered (the oft-injured Woods played only five times this year and will turn 49 on Dec. 30), the 82-time PGA TOUR winner downplayed it.

Tiger: “Yeah, it's OK.”

Charlie: “You're keeping up with me.”

Tiger: “I know. I get the downwind, I'm OK. … These are big fairways, and I can let it go a little bit from time to time. If not, just hit my little peeler and play and move on.”

So formidable was the Tiger-and-Charlie Show that Justin Leonard, who with son Luke was trying to keep up (they finished birdie-eagle to shoot 64), complained to the crowd on the 18th tee that it was the first time he’d had the honor all day.

“Let me soak this in here a little bit,” Leonard said as the fans chortled.

Woods withdrew with flu-like symptoms at The Genesis Invitational, missed the cut in three of the four majors, and underwent what was believed to have been his sixth microdiscectomy in September. The timing of it, he said, was so that he would hopefully be well enough to tee it up at the PNC.

So far, so good, and while he could take a cart here, since this is a PGA TOUR Champions event, he has walked, instead. He kept taking off and putting on his sweater on Saturday, which was sunny and cool and so chock full of highlights it was hard to pick a signature moment on the back nine alone.

Was it Tiger hitting a delicate flip wedge close for birdie at the 10th, then exhaling? Or was it his laser-like approach at the par-4 15th, which left Charlie to knock in another short birdie try? Or was it Tiger’s approach on 16, also close, also pin-high?

Then again, maybe it was Charlie walking in a long birdie putt at the par-3 12th hole, or nearly driving the par-4 13th before getting up and down from the front bunker.

“We picked each other up, which was great,” Tiger said.

Luke Leonard, son of Justin, said on the Golf Channel on Friday that the one time he played with Tiger before Saturday was the day Charlie beat his father for the first time. Tiger smiled when asked after his pro-am round to provide context.

“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.”

It would be hard to find two more competitive people in the 20-team field, and they are just one round away from making a family memory neither will soon forget.

What would it mean to raise the trophy here?

“I don't know, we've got to figure that out first,” Charlie said. “We've got to get there, and then I'll tell you.”