Charlie Woods ready to tackle longer tees at PNC Championship

Charlie Woods is getting bigger. So is the golf course that he will play in this weekend’s PNC Championship at Ritz-Carlton Golf Club in Orlando, Florida.

Charlie Woods is 14 (he turns 15 in February), which means he moves back one tee, now playing a course that measures 6,576 yards. Charlie will compete from the same tees as a few of his fellow amateurs (Reagan Cink, John Daly II, Brady Duval and others) as well as some of the game’s most accomplished professionals.

Steve Stricker, Vijay Singh, Tom Lehman, Jim Furyk, Nelly Korda and John Daly – all major winners on the PGA TOUR, PGA TOUR Champions or LPGA – are among the players who will compete this week from the same distance as Charlie.

A year ago, Charlie played from tees that were roughly 500 yards shorter. There were some holes where Tiger Woods would send his son up first to drive, and if he hit the fairway, Tiger didn’t need to leave his cart to hit.

There are only seven players in the field – including Tiger Woods – who will play tees deeper than those from which Charlie will compete. The extra yardage did not seem to faze Charlie in a final practice round on Friday. He will be able to get to the par-5 holes with ease (the exception being the 585-yard 14th), and there are even a few par 4s (Nos. 10 and 13) that Tiger wants him to aggressively try to drive.

Tiger Woods said the two will figure out their best strategy as they go, depending on what the weather does and how wet the course is.

“He was an 11-year-old when he first came here (in 2020),” Tiger said. “He’s now 14, and things are just different. He has more accountability and he has more understanding how to play the game.”

Charlie Woods shot a career-best 66 to win his age-group qualifier at the Notah Begay III Junior Golf National Championships last fall at Mission Resort, about an hour from this week’s tournament site. Charlie finished T17 in the tournament.

In his four years at the PNC, Charlie has filled out, gotten stronger and for a second straight year, moved back a set of tees.

“We go by age, because age is consistent,” said PGA TOUR Tournament Official Joe Terry, who has set up the PNC Championship for years. “Tiger is great about it. He told me, ‘You tell us where to play, and that’s where we’ll play.’ ”

Charlie shot 78-76 at the Florida High School Athletic Association’s Class A State Championship this fall as his school (The Benjamin School), won the state title. Charlie is a freshman, and one of his teammates is Luke Leonard, son of former Open champion Justin Leonard. The Leonards are here competing this week. Another teammate, Luke Wise, is on Charlie’s bag.

“He (Charlie) won the state championship with the boys, and that’s really cool,” said Justin Thomas, the two-time PGA champion who lives nearby in South Florida. “I think playing on the high school team has been very beneficial for him.

“I’m just glad he keeps moving back tee markers.”

Tiger and Charlie finished second to the Dalys, John and John II, at the PNC two years ago, but have not yet won the event.