Charlie Woods is hurting, too? Charlie Woods is hurting, too.
But you can exhale.
“You know these kids: They’ll be running by tomorrow,” Notah Begay said.
Indeed. That’s the good news. But the unfortunate update is that Charlie, the 13-year-old son of 15-time major champion Tiger Woods, may be slowed for this weekend’s PNC Championship, the event that pairs major winners with family members. A left leg limp from the younger Woods was noticeable during Friday’s pro-am, and on the Golf Channel broadcast, Begay, an analyst and Woods family friend, said it came after he rolled his ankle while hitting on the range.
After the round, Tiger was asked in a press conference if Charlie is feeling OK.
“He is,” Tiger said. “His ankle’s not exactly — well, it’s better than mine.”
He chuckled, then added, “We’ll be ready come game time tomorrow.”
Following Tiger’s presser, Golf Channel’s Todd Lewis reported that Woods said Charlie’s limp was the result of a “growth spurt.”
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Whatever the cause of his discomfort, Charlie joins his father at less than 100 percent, though Tiger’s troubles are in the opposite leg. The elder Woods is battling plantar fasciitis in his right foot, and that injury came as an extension of multiple injuries to his right leg suffered during a car crash in early 2021.
“I know people at home are going: ‘You got to be kidding me. What’s going with Charlie? Does he have plantar fasciitis?’” announcer Dan Hicks said on the broadcast. “But apparently, Notah Begay, Charlie sprained his ankle while hitting golf balls on the range?”
“Yeah, I wouldn’t call it a sprain,” Begay said. “He just kind of rolled it. I asked him, he’s like, ah, it’s just a little bit wobbly at this point.”
“We got limping Woods,” Hicks said. “That’s not what we signed up for here. Man, if they win this thing, it will be the most incredible win ever.”
Ahead of the pro-am, the PGA Tour’s Twitter account had filmed the younger Woods warming up, and the Twitter account @TWlegion noticed that his left leg was taped up. On the broadcast, he limped, but played on, and he and dad are scheduled to start their first round at just after noon ET on Saturday.
On Friday, Hicks and analyst Peter Jacobsen noticed the younger Woods’ limp multiple times.
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“I want to be like my dad, but I’m even going to incorporate the limp,” Jacobsen said.
“He’s going to extremes here,” Hicks said.
Friday’s news follows a year from Tiger Woods where he played in just three events — the Masters, PGA Championship and Open Championship. He was set to play in the Hero World Championship earlier this month, but withdrew three days ahead of the start due to the plantar fasciitis.
Woods then played last week, at the latest edition of the Match, and he’s scheduled to this weekend. But both events allow for the use of carts.
“Yeah, I can hit golf balls,” Woods said at the Hero World Challenge, which his foundation also hosts. “It’s the walking that just hurts. So that’s just a — something that — when you’ve got plantar fasciitis, the only thing you can do is rest and try and stretch that out as best as possible, but it’s rest. How do you rest when you’re hosting a tournament? You know, it’s hard.
“So this will be a tough week. The Father-Son will be a very easy week, Charlie will just hit all the shots and I’ll just get the putts out of the hole, so pretty easy there. But other than that, in the match we’re playing in, we’re flying in carts.”