ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Tiger Woods marked his return to competitive golf with a spectacular opening round at the PNC Championship Saturday, teaming with his 15-year-old son Charlie to shoot a 13-under 59 and share the lead in the parent-child tournament.
Playing their fifth PNC Championship together at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club, Team Woods produced a bogey-free round with 13 birdies, including seven on the back nine, in the scramble format event.
“To be out here in this environment and to have fun like this – it doesn’t get any better,” Woods told NBC after the round. The 15-time major champion had daughter Sam serving as his caddie for the two-day, 36-hole competition.
The tournament marks Woods’ first competitive appearance since undergoing back surgery in September and his first event since The Open Championship in July. The 47-year-old has made just 13 PGA Tour starts over the past four seasons following serious leg injuries sustained in a 2021 car accident.
“I’ve had a lot of procedures over the course of time,” Woods said Friday. “I’m not going to feel what I used to feel. And the recovery is going to be on the harder side. I can go for a day here or there, but over the course of rounds, weeks, months, it just gets harder.”
Woods revealed that Charlie, who has grown nearly four inches since last year, recently beat him for the first time in golf, though only over nine holes. “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,” Woods said.
The elder Woods emphasized his advice to Charlie about handling the pressure of competing with the famous surname: “Just be you. Charlie is Charlie. Yes, he’s my son, he’s gonna have that last name as part of the sport, but I just want him to just be himself.”
The tournament, featuring 20 major champions playing alongside family members, concludes Sunday.
