The First Look: Team Woods returns, family pairings highlight PNC Championship field

After Tiger Woods made his return to action at the Hero World Challenge for the first time since withdrawing at the Masters, he’ll once again be back to tee it up at the PNC Championship alongside his son, Charlie.

The duo was tied for second a year ago after the first round but stalled on Sunday and ended up tied for eighth. This will mark the fourth time the Woodses will appear at the event, and to Charlie’s credit, he’s been racking up some good results of late – his high school team won the state golf championship in November.

The elder Woods finished 18th in the 20-man field of the Hero World Challenge, ending up at even par after 72 holes. He was quick to point out his strengths – he was driving the ball extremely well – and was enthused to see he won’t need to overhaul much with his game as he inches closer to his 2024 campaign.

Tiger said he was hopeful to play one tournament a month next year.

“I think the best part of the week is the way I drove it. I drove it on pretty much a string all week,” Woods said Sunday in the Bahamas. “I felt like I had my ball speed up, which was nice, and I was hitting the middle of the face the entire week, which is nice. So, it's not like I have to go and try and find something the next few weeks or something going into next year; what I've been working on is right there and maybe just tighten up a little bit.”

Birdies will once again be key this week as Team Woods look to win its first PNC Championship title, but they’ll have to do it against a serious field including last year’s defending champions, Vijay Singh and his son Qass, who shot rounds of 59-59 to win by two.

Regardless of Sunday’s final number, however, this is always an event Tiger Woods looks forward to.

“It is an amazing gift to be able to share my love of golf with Charlie, and we genuinely do look forward to playing in the PNC Championship all year,” Woods said. “Competing together, against a field of so many golfing greats and their families, is so special.”

FIELD NOTES AND STORYLINES: Steve Stricker and daughter Izzi are the only team making their debut this year. Stricker won six times on PGA TOUR Champions this season and had another five runner-up results. Izzi plays golf at Wisconsin and also caddied for Steve as he won the KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship… Tiger Woods and son Charlie are teeing it up at the PNC for the fourth time. Their best result came in 2021 when they finished second… Defending champions Vijay Singh and son Qass are looking to recreate their magic from 2022. Last year was their 16th time teeing it up together at this event and they finally broke through for a win, becoming the first pair to shoot two sub-60 rounds at the event. Vijay Singh had one win on PGA TOUR Champions this season… John Daly and his son, John Daly II, return to the field. They won the PNC in 2021 in record-setting fashion. The younger Daly was a redshirt sophomore at the University of Arkansas in 2022-23… LPGA Tour superstar Nelly Korda is back in action alongside her father, Petr. The Kordas finished tied for fifth last year, and she teed it up with Tony Finau at the Grant Thornton Invitational last week… Korda will be joined on the LPGA Tour side by Annika Sorenstam once again. The women’s golf legend is set to return to the PNC alongside her son, Will McGee. McGee was 11 last year in his tournament debut – the youngest participant in the event’s history… Padraig Harrington is hoping to improve on his fourth-place result from a year ago, but this time he’s got his youngest son, Ciaran. Harrington, who won twice on PGA TOUR Champions this year, played last year with his older son Patrick. Ciaran turns 16 in December… Stewart Cink and son Reagan spent plenty of time together inside the ropes over the last few years with the elder Cink leaning on Reagan as his caddy through a late-career resurgence. The duo had two wins together. Stewart Cink turned 50 in May and finished third in his PGA TOUR Champions debut. Now the duo will play together… Justin Thomas returns to play alongside his father, Mike. The Thomases won this event in 2020. Justin Thomas finished third at the Hero World Challenge… Lee Trevino, now 84, will continue his streak as the only golfer to play every iteration of the PNC Championship. He's back in action alongside his son Daniel… Matt Kuchar, who is the only golfer to make the FedExCup Playoffs every year since its inception, will tee it up with his elder son, Cameron, once again. Matt Kuchar played last year with his younger son, Carson… The rest of the field is made up of major champions and icons of the game including Bernhard Langer (son, Jason), David Duval (son, Brady), Nick Faldo (son, Matthew), Tom Lehman (son, Sean), JustinLeonard (son, Luke), Mark O’Meara (son, Shaun), Jim Furyk (son, Tanner), Nick Price (son, Greg) and Retief Goosen (son, Leo). The Goosen duo are back for the first time since 2019.

COURSE: Ritz-Carlton Golf Club, par 72, 7,106 yards (yardage subject to change). The club in Orlando, Florida, has hosted the PNC Championship every year since 2002. Players will navigate a Floridian layout with generous landing areas and wide fairways but subtly contoured greens and strategically placed hazards.

72-HOLE RECORD: 117, John Daly and John Daly II (2021)

18-HOLE RECORD: 56, Davis Love III and Dru Love (second round, 2018)

LAST TIME: In their 16th appearance, the team of Vijay Singh and son Qass finally won the PNC Championship. The Singh’s had nine top-five finishes in their career at the PNC, including three runner-up results. They shot two rounds of 59, becoming the first team in the tournament’s history to shoot two sub-60 rounds. They defeated John Daly and his son, and Justin Thomas and his father, by two shots. Tiger Woods and 13-year-old Charlie Woods finished tied for eighth, six shots back of the Singh’s winning total. Nelly Korda, a former world No. 1 on the women’s side and major champion ended up tied for fifth alongside her father. Padraig Harrington and his son, Patrick, finished fourth.

HOW TO WATCH (all times ET):

Television: Saturday, 2:30-6 p.m. (NBC); Sunday, 12:30-1:30 p.m. (Golf Channel), 1:30-4:30 p.m. (NBC)