Tiger Woods, in announcing that he was returning to competitive golf this week, tweeted it as such: “Although it’s been a long and challenging year, I am very excited to close it out by competing in the @PNCchampionship with my son Charlie. I’m playing as a Dad and couldn’t be more excited and proud.” And if you didn’t quite believe that he “was playing as a Dad” and that he “couldn’t be more excited” and that he “couldn’t be more proud,” he duffed his final shot into the sand on Friday.
And laughed about it.
While much was made about Woods’ tee shots, iron shots, around-the-green shots and putts, along with his ball speed, clubhead speed and walking speed, at the pro-am of the PNC Championship, his first event since a car crash in late February, maybe the most memorable moment came on a shot that barely made it halfway to its target and crashed.
On the par-5 18th at the Ritz-Carlton in this parent-child scramble event, Team Woods took the drive of Charlie, Tiger’s 12-year-old son who was playing about 75 yards up from the back tees, where Dad was. They took Charlie’s second shot, too, though Dad was about 25 yards closer. And now they had about 50 yards to go.
The younger Woods pitched just over the flag and was 8 feet from a birdie.
“Just a little deep, but right on line,” analyst Notah Begay said on the Golf Channel broadcast. “Beautiful action.”
And the elder Woods?
“Oh, this is well short,” Begay said.
The 15-time major champion hit a wedge about 15 yards short of the flag, and it plopped into a greenside bunker. Then he turned to his right, looked at his son and laughed.
“Well,” announcer Dan Hicks said on the broadcast.
Up close, Tiger Woods’ first round back answered plenty of questions
“When have you ever seen that?” Begay said.
Indeed. To cap the hole, Charlie rolled in the putt and made Team Woods, at least for a hole, a one-man show — drive, second shot, pitch, putt, all the 12-year-old. If you didn’t quite believe that Woods “was playing as a Dad” and that he “couldn’t be more excited” and that he “couldn’t be more proud,” laughing off a miss and watching the kid clean it up were memorably that.
“I think it’s just being able to have the bonding experience of being out there with Charlie,” Woods said. “Unfortunately this year has been very hard, and I haven’t been able to play at all until — this would be probably my second or third round this year. It’s been a long year. But just the fact that I’m able to play and have this experience with him and watch him, watch him hit shots or encourage him to hit shots, where to think — that’s one thing I can do, I can think my way around the golf course.
“I may not be able to execute it, but I can help strategize some of his shots, how to hit it, things of that nature and make sure that he’s in his little bubble and he’s having fun.”
