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Lee Trevino is 82 now, and even one of his biggest fans admitted that “it’s not what it used to be.” Still, when “it” was what it once was, and you know that “it” may very well leave your body one day but never your head, you and your 12-year-old son track down your favorite teacher at the end of the range and watch, listen and oftentimes laugh. 

And there Tiger and Charlie Woods stood, for a good 15 minutes, before struggling to go.   

“He wasn’t really giving a lesson to Charlie. He was just talking, like he does,” the 15-time major winner said of his and his son’s range time with Trevino late last month at the PNC Championship. “I got a chance to be around Lee quite a bit early in my career, and to see the quality of strike, the guy is 82 years old — come on, it’s not what it used to be, but he finds the middle of the face each and every time. I don’t care how old you are. The audio, he still has the audio, and he still has the shape of shots. Just doesn’t go as far, but no one has control of that golf ball as well as he has.

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“The old Balata ball into the wind and the shots that he played and how he did it, hardpan in Texas, and it transferred to pretty much everywhere around the world; people would just sit there and listen. Just listen — you guys know, you walk the range, and you know guys how to hit a golf ball. Lee was that guy.”

And still is. Shortly after the session after the Friday pro-am of the PNC, the Champions Tour captured and shared about two minutes of the back-and-forth, and in it, Trevino dished on the shot that causes him the most fear — “a 50-yard shot with the pin on the right, with water, with water, with water right there” — and how to hit it. Last week, the Tour put out a second video, and the one-minute, three-second clip is well worth a watch below.

In this video, Trevino shared the benefits of lowering your hands on the club. With Tiger and Charlie a few yards behind him, Trevino rolled out a ball, took one of the elder Woods’ wedges and demonstrated. 

“See, with this wedge here, if you wanted to hit this little wedge to that target, so you put your hands down here and so you can make it curl like that,” Trevino said. “And the reason, when your hands are down here and you pull ’em up, you got the angle.”     

He then took one of his own hybrids, rolled out another ball and swung again. 

“It’s just like this with my hybrid,” Trevino said. “Sometimes I get to a point where I can’t hit an iron very good anymore, Tiger. You know, I don’t have enough speed, so sometimes I get 175 and I need to go in there this way, all I have to do is lower the hands here and just a — there you go. And put it right in there. I don’t even have to swing hard, and I don’t have to hold ’cause with the hands there, they’ll come up and you have the angle.”

On and on it went. But at this point in the video, Trevino noticed that his audience included more than just Tiger and Charlie. 

“And I’m going to pass the hat, goddammit, for lessons,” he cracked.  

“He’s the best. He’s the best ever,” Tiger said.  

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The post Tiger and Charlie Woods deliver biggest PNC Championship ratings in 20 years appeared first on Golf.

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Welcome to another edition of the Hot Mic, GOLF’s weekly media column dedicated to the people (and stories) behind the action you watch each week.

There are many ways to quantify “the Tiger Effect” but perhaps the simplest is in the cold, hard numbers.

Like television numbers. Back in the late 90s, the first mentions of the “Tiger Effect” came largely thanks to the corresponding spike in viewership that joined his biggest moments. At the 1997 Masters — Woods’ international coronation — CBS viewership nearly doubled from the previous year, growing to just shy of 20 million viewers. The next year, with Tiger far from contention for most of Sunday, viewership dipped back to 15 million. Three years later, the Tiger Slam sent final round viewership shooting back up to 19 million.

In those early days, the Tiger Effect had a literal meaning as well as a figurative one. Literal, in the sense of the many million viewers who flocked to witness his attempts at greatness. Figurative, in the billions of dollars of revenue generated for the sport of golf off the back of those victories.

In 2021, the Tiger Effect holds a slightly different weight. Viewership is down acoss the board. Fewer folks tune into events on broadcast television than they did 20 years ago, even when the stars align. Fewer still tune in for a hit-and-giggle, parent-child event on the Sunday before Christmas. Add in competition with the NFL, NBA and NHL and, well, you’ve got a recipe for a ratings disaster. (A larger portion of viewers have gone to streaming, and while some networks have begun attempting to track those audiences, those estimates are often seen as unreliable.)

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So, with all that context in mind, how can the Tiger Effect be quantified in 2021? According to television viewers (in addition to our good friends at NBC and Sports Media Watch), the answer is clear: in Woods’ grand return to golf resulting in the best ratings for the PNC Championship in two decades. On Sunday, NBC’s telecast of final round coverage of the event drew in 2.24 million viewers and a 1.3 rating — the second-highest rated and most-watched telecast for the PNC since it moved into this schedule slot in 2012. That number was behind only Saturday’s coverage, which (ostensibly with less competition from other sports leagues) drew in a 2.34 million viewers and a 1.4 rating. The numbers represented the highest viewership for a PNC telecast since 2001, according to NBC.

The final viewership tally marked a near 50 percent audience increase over last year’s version of the event, and nearly quadrupled the audience numbers put forth by the PNC Championship in 2019, before Tiger and Charlie competed in the event together.

Now, that number still pales in comparison to network viewership for a big-time event. In fact, the closest comparison to the PNC from an eyeball perspective might be the Farmers Insurance Open or the Waste Management Phoenix Open — two respected (but hardly bellwether) PGA Tour events. In 2021, those tournaments averaged in the neighborhood of 2.5-3.5 million viewers, slightly outpacing the PNC.

But the PNC was never going to threaten major championship viewership numbers, nor was it expected to. The event is at an inherent disadvantage — during a busy stretch in the sports calendar, at a time when fans aren’t conditioned to watch golf — that even Tiger and Charlie Woods can’t usurp.

Rather, the numbers speak to the individual growth of the event over the last several years and to the value presented to a PGA Tour event when Tiger Woods walks through the front door. They speak to the value of marketable stars, and to the importance of social media. The deeper numbers — which show audiences watched for longer and engaged deeper than in previous years — speak to the importance of the event’s entertainment value. It’s a hell of a lot easier to keep viewers in the door when you’re showing them something easy to understand, fast-paced and unique to the golf schedule.

Or maybe the numbers speak to a lot of nothing. Maybe the whole event was an outlier — a gift from the ratings gods signed, sealed and delivered by its star duo.

One interpretation, however, is not up for debate. The Tiger Effect has maintained its stranglehold on golf audiences, even a quarter-century later.

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The post Wall-to-Wall Equipment: Charlie Woods has a piece of gear most pros don’t possess appeared first on Golf.

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Welcome to Wall-to-Wall Equipment, the Monday morning gear wrap-up in which GOLF equipment editor Jonathan Wall takes you through the latest trends, rumors and breaking news.

One and only

Armed with a bevy of shots in his arsenal, impressive speed and pro-level swagger, it’s easy to forget Charlie Woods is just 12 years old, which technically doesn’t even make him old enough to see a PG-13 movie. Woods may have to wait another year to see Spider-Man: No Way Home, but the barrier to entry to wield custom TaylorMade gear isn’t as hard and fast.

In fact, Charlie already boasts a set of custom TaylorMade P7CW irons that are total one-offs. It’s just another reminder that being the son of a living legend has its perks.

While Charlie’s blades have the look of pop’s P7TW, slight modifications were made to the overall look.

As you can see from the photo below, TaylorMade designers — it’s very possible Tiger played a role as well in the creation process — removed mass from the heel and toe sections, giving the head a similar look to the company’s classic RAC TP MB Forged.

The RAC design made it possible to position more weight along the perimeter to further stabilize a more traditional blade profile. In Charlie’s case, it actually serves a dual purpose, adding weight to the perimeter — mass is still visible behind the hitting area — while reducing the overall head weight to land on a target swing weight for the 12-year-old phenom.

As Jack Nicklaus pointed out at the 2020 Masters, Tiger is following the same blueprint Earl used when he taught the 15-time major winner how to wield a club. Instead of starting with a more forgiving iron, Tiger had Charlie in blades from the get-go.

“Charlie is starting to play golf, and he’s getting a really good swing,” Nicklaus said. “[Tiger] says, I’ve got blades in his hands so he learns how to play golf instead of learning with all those forgiving golf clubs.

“I think he’s very wise.”

Of course, Tiger is going about things the right way, reducing the overall weight to allow Charlie to hone his swing with a lighter build. In his case, however, it just so happens to be with custom blades sporting his initials.

Not so Stealthy

Tiger’s return at the PNC Championship led TaylorMade to go early with the tour release of its Stealth drivers and fairway woods. Both Tiger and Charlie were spotted with a Stealth club in Orlando. Tiger chose to use a 9-degree Stealth Plus driver, while Charlie opted for a Stealth fairway wood.

A red “60X Carbon Twist Face” looks to be the centerpiece of the Stealth driver, but don’t expect the technology to carry over to the fairway wood. Based on fairway wood photos that surfaced from the event, the red face is visibly absent — a sure sign that TaylorMade is going with a more conventional face construction.

Like father, like son

Tiger Woods wasn’t the only golfer in the PNC Championship field using a Scotty Cameron Newport 2 GSS putter with his name stamped on the head. As GOLF.com reported last week, Charlie is the proud owner of a backup version of Tiger’s Newport 2 GSS putter.

The putter appears to be an exact replica — all the way down to the cord grip, cherry bombs and “Tiger Woods” stamped on the back bumpers. The wand is decidedly shorter than Woods’ gamer, but that’s where the differences end.

Backup versions of Woods’ putter have sold for big money in the last few years, but Charlie’s version is on a completely different level. Ryan Carey, the founder of Golden Age Golf Auctions, tweeted that Tiger and Charlie’s Newport 2’s are “two of the most significant putters in existence — whose combined value may be more the golf course they are playing on.”

In other words, Charlie was rolling the rock with a very special putter.

Quick-hitters: John Daly had 13 Tour Edge clubs in play at the PNC Championship, including an Exotics C721 driver. … John Daly II’s bag was a bit more diverse with a mix of Ping, TaylorMade and Titleist (Scotty Cameron Futura T5W) gear.

Want to overhaul your bag for 2022? Find a fitting location near you at GOLF’s affiliate company True Spec Golf.

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Check in every week for the unfiltered opinions of our writers and editors as they break down the hottest topics in the sport, and join the conversation by tweeting us @golf_com. This week, we discuss Tiger Woods’ PNC return, new PGA Tour viewing options and our dream lesson.

1. Where to begin?! Tiger Woods, playing alongside his 12-year-old son, Charlie, made his first start since his car crash, at the PNC Championship, in Orlando — and the results were spectacular. On Sunday, in the second and final round of the 36-hole scramble, Tiger and Charlie made 11 consecutive birdies to charge up the leaderboard and finish second, at 25-under, two back of John Daly and his son, John II.  Your impressions of what you witnessed, please.

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Zephyr Melton, assistant editor (@zephyrmelton): That was fun! After the accident back in February, it seemed unlikely Tiger would ever play again, so seeing him hitting quality shots with the cameras on was neat to see.

Michael Bamberger, senior writer: It’s almost super-human. You take the two best golfers at your club and put them in this format. They’re going to shoot maybe 10-under — 25-under is incredible, scramble better-ball and all. It speaks to Charlie’s improvement, and his father’s will.

Nick Piastowski, senior editor (@nickpia): Thank you, science. We may never completely know what shape the elder Woods was in after his crash, but a limp and a slightly revamped swing some 10 months afterward gives you some hint. And for him to be hitting 300-yard drives and sticking irons to within inches is … I don’t know? Unbelievable. Unreal. Unnatural. Pick your ‘un.’ Also, on the young Charlie front, maybe the more impressive thing than his swing is his coolness around a crowd. I sometimes get swing jitters with three playing partners — and there’s Charlie hitting fairways in front of thousands.

Dylan Dethier, senior writer (@dylan_dethier): I was standing on the back of the 17th tee when Charlie Woods pulled 5-iron, cut it off the left water and watched it stop some 4 feet from the hole. I found myself laughing out loud. The entire scene was so feel-good, so preposterous, so much better than whatever we could have predicted 10 months ago, three months ago, last week. I won’t soon forget that feeling.

James Colgan, assistant editor (@jamescolgan26): My first (and biggest) impression is that it’s amazing how important we make 72 holes of stroke play sound when one of the best events of the year is a 36-hole, best ball scramble. Maybe that whole week-in, week-out grind would be better served if we occasionally catered to different styles of play.

2. Tiger made it clear that he’s still nowhere near being able to walk 18 holes and did not articulate a timeline for his PGA Tour return. But what did these two rounds tell you about both his physical condition and the state of his game?

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Melton: Look, Tiger hit some great shots and looked far further along than many of us thought he’d be at this stage, but trying to dissect the state of his game based on a 36-hole, two-man scramble is a fool’s errand. There’s a wide gap in the quality of golf needed to compete on Tour as opposed to winning a hit-and-giggle. I’m still tempering my expectations. 

Bamberger: Right now, Tiger could not talk nine holes, let alone 18 holes a day for four or five days. The shape of his swing is gorgeous, But the speed, the zip, the audacious confidence to attempt this and that — the things that made him Tiger Woods — are not there. That doesn’t mean they won’t come back.

Piastowski: I can’t say much more than above, that yes, he’s nowhere near the condition to walk an entire round, let alone four, and yes, this was just a swing to get him through an event successfully at this point in time. But as I watched, I couldn’t help but wonder what focusing maybe only on tempo and short game and course management would do for this “new” Tiger. (Tiger 3.0?) That’s not to say that he hasn’t done all that before. But if this were solely his game going forward, where his mind, and not his power, were what he leaned on, what does that look like? It was already a strength. Maybe even his biggest one. What would happen if it got stronger?   

Dethier: Closer than I would have guessed. Closer than most reliable witnesses would have guessed, too. Mike Thomas, Justin Thomas, Joe LaCava and Matt Kuchar all said he was closer than they would have guessed, too. But Sunday took a toll on Tiger, no doubt. I was there as he finished his media remarks and watched as he took a deep exhale, because he could finally turn off for a few moments. Being “on” will take training, and it encompasses walking, grinding, practicing, trying. 

Colgan: He’s not close, but goodness, I expected him to look much further. The leg (and how it’ll impact his ability to swing a driver) is still a rather significant question mark, sure. But it’s clear the rest of his game hasn’t missed a beat.

3. From what you saw or heard from Tiger over the past three days, what most surprised you?

Instruction

Melton: I noted it above, but I think we were all surprised at how far along in his recovery he was. I’m glad to see he can still enjoy the game.

Bamberger: His life changed permanently as a result of a car crash that is essentially inexplicable. Yet he presents himself pretty much as he always has, even as he says he won’t be playing the Tour full time ever again. Well, when did he ever play the Tour on a full-time basis? He took Nicklaus’ limited schedule formula to an even more limited place.

Piastowski: I’m not sure if I’m answering the question correctly here, but I want to get it out, so here goes. (This wouldn’t be a good way to answer during a test, but we’re a friendly bunch here at TC.) Maybe the most memorable part of the three days was Friday after the pro-am, when, on the range, Tiger dropped his bag against a cart, used it as a back pillow and relaxed on the ground as Charlie hit balls. We don’t get many looks at the Woods camp outside of Tour player Tiger, but when we do, they make an impression. And dad watching son hit balls while leaned up against a cart was impressionable.   

Dethier: I was surprised that he hit 174 mph ball speed on Sunday, and even more surprised given that number came on a drive he described as “weak and spinny” to his manager, Rob McNamara, as they drove from the 13th tee. That’s above-average speed, even when “average” is his freakish group of peers on the PGA Tour.

Colgan: Agreed on that ball-speed number, Dylan — I thought he’d be somewhere in the 160s. I was also struck by Tiger’s intensity. He was pretty dialed for someone I expected to be pretty sentimental. I know that’s kinda his thing, but he also described this event as a ‘hit-and-giggle’ less than 20 days ago.

4. Tiger didn’t do it alone at the PNC — his co-star, Charlie, also dazzled with a steady diet of smashed drives and holed putts. Which part of Charlie’s game most impressed you?

Melton: It’s super impressive to see how well Charlie can perform with the cameras on him for every shot. I can’t imagine trying to pull off some of the shots he executed with a camera in my face. 

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Bamberger: His sense of fun. His flowing follow-through. His rhythm and athleticism. The ease with which he catches the ball when it is tossed to him.

Piastowski: I mentioned his coolness above, but I’ll toss in the razzing of Justin Thomas. Seems like Charlie can’t stand to lose. Like his pop. 

Dethier: His distance control. Those wedges land pin-high. I’m not sure if that was conveyed via lessons, osmosis or DNA, but it’s something he has in common with his dad. Also, he’s got that tunnel vision.

Colgan: His precociousness. He wasn’t scared of the moment, and I’m pretty sure I was scared of the moment for him. He’s just a kid, and who knows what his future in golf holds, but kudos to Charlie (and the folks raising him) for encouraging that spark.

5. No one will mistake the PNC Championship for the PGA Championship, but given what Woods has been through over the past 10 months, where does this performance rank among his all-time indelible moments?

Melton: I think this was an indelible moment for Tiger Woods the person and father more so than Tiger Woods the golfer. Being able to tee it up again with Charlie is what matters — the golf is trivial in the grand scheme.

Instruction

Bamberger: Well, it’s a one-off, or a two-off, with his appearance at the same event last year. He said he was playing as a “Dad.” I think that’s exactly what he did. Tiger is capable of being very, very truthful. When he says he’s nowhere close to playing Tour-level golf — beyond the walking, the actual playing — I absolutely believe him.

Piastowski: It’s up there, right? In no way am I saying that winning the PNC is like winning a major. In no way. But to come back, do something your son wanted, play well and be a dad? Those wins are certainly noteworthy in the whole that is Tiger Woods. 

Dethier: I’ll yield part of my time to the man himself, who was asked a similar question post-round. “Well, it would have a special meaning in my heart for sure, there’s no doubt about it — and it still does.” In other words, he refused to answer the question, and I’ll do the same. It’s in a different category, but I’ll remember it damn well.

Colgan: I don’t think this weekend will wind up anywhere near the shortlist of Tiger’s great golf accomplishments. The event doesn’t rise to that standard, and neither does a runner-up finish. But it’s certainly on his shortlist, and that’s worth something.

6. Beyond the Tiger and Charlie Show, the PNC was full of many other fun storylines, from Lee Trevino doing his thing to Nelly Korda teaming up with her tennis pro father Petr to John Daly channeling Santa Claus at a Friday night dinner. Which non-Woods team or moment did you most enjoy watching?

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Melton: Can I choose the moment when Nelly gushed like a schoolgirl and asked Tiger for a photo? Because that warmed the heart.

Bamberger: Watching Henrik Stenson’s 11-year-old son, Karl. He’s as funny as his father. 

Piastowski: Dang, Zephyr and Michael picked two good ones. I’ll toss in that PNC feeds the kids chicken tenders, fries and PB&J for meals. (Which Justin Thomas not only shared on Instagram, but also enjoyed himself.) No wonder the kids were playing so well! And JT! 

Dethier: I’d never watched Nelly Korda play actual tournament golf. I arrived at No. 6 today as she was standing over a 160-yard approach. She hit it to 2 feet. Touche. For extra credit, I’ll add this: I liked leaving the media center and seeing the grinders doing their thing: Vijay Singh on the range, Padraig Harrington on the putting green. Natural habitat.

Colgan: John Daly II’s performance was, in a word, stirring. That kid has some SERIOUS game. Long way to go, but it’d be damn fun watching him compete with the big boys some day.

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Red on Sunday. At the top of the leaderboard on the final day, too. And Dan Hicks dusting off “expect anything different.” Close your eyes, and 2021 felt a whole lot like 2001. 

Then again, this certainly wasn’t the PGA or Open Championships. It was the PNC one, a parent-child, scramble, pre-holiday event, on a forgiving Ritz-Carlton Golf Club. Then again, there Tiger Woods was, days short of a 10-month anniversary of a car crash that left him, at one point, facing the possibility of right leg amputation, running up the leaderboard, despite a noticeable limp. He hit fairways. All of ’em. He stuffed irons close. He cleaned up on the greens. And when he didn’t, son Charlie did. From holes 7 to 17, no pars, no bogeys, only birdies. 

In the end, the nearly inconceivable run came up two shots short. Team Woods’ 25-under total, after a ridiculous 15-under 57 during the final round, finished second. In the end, too, you probably didn’t see this coming. Even if you closed your eyes and imagined. 

This may have been a “hit and giggle,” Woods’ term for the PNC. But you, Tiger Woods fan, were smiling. Below is the best of everything from Woods’ second competitive round since late February. Along with some of the worst.    

Best moment and worst moment 

The best. Team Woods was tied for the lead after 17, Tiger and Charlie each were in the fairway from the tee on 18, and even the Grinch had a goosebump or two. And then … 

The worst. From 237 yards out, Tiger hit right of the green, father and son each chipped past the hole, and neither could make a 6-foot comebacker. Though, admit it: 10 months ago, 10 weeks ago, shoot, even 10 days ago, you would have taken Tiger in contention on the 72nd, win or lose, and thanked Santa, right? 

Best moment (11 birdies in a row category) 

Team Woods parred 4, 5 and 6, a no-no in a scramble. Then birdied 7. And 8. And 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16 and 17. It was the longest birdie streak in the history of the event. Then came 18. 

Best moment (Charlie category) 

There were a few, but we’ll go with his tee shot on the par-3 17th, where every player in the field played from the same tees, and Charlie, all of 12 years old, hit it closer than any of ’em, his shot falling to 4 feet left of the pin (and with water left of that).

Charlie club-twirled, too. 

“That’s spectacular. Incredible stuff,” analyst Peter Jacobsen said on the NBC broadcast.

“Something I’ll never forget,” analyst Gary Koch said. 

Best moment (Sunday red category) 

The Sunday red, on father, son and even daughter Sam, who was watching from inside the ropes for a second-straight day, was no doubt a moment. 

Best shot (iron category)

As it was on Saturday, Sunday’s best shot came on Woods’ second on the 529-yard, par-5 3rd, when, after a drive in the fairway, and from 176 out, he knocked it to 7 feet. Notably, the ball was on the upslope of a drainage ditch and also tested his surgically repaired leg. “There was concern with pushing off the right leg,” Jacobsen said. Team Woods finished with an eagle three on Charlie’s putt, and father and son moved into the lead.  

Best shot (wedge category) 

It came on the 363-yard, par-4 7th, where, after Charlie hit to 6 feet, Tiger hit to about 6 inches. Charlie tapped in for the birdie three, and dad never left his cart.  

Best tee shot 

It’s hard to argue against any of them — Tiger hit 13 tee shots and hit 13 fairways. Let’s go with shot one on the 453-yard, par-4 9th, where, after electing not to hit a tee shot on Saturday, he hit one on Sunday, picked up his tee and didn’t bother looking where it landed. 

Best putt(s) 

We’ll hedge here a little and go with three, all after Charlie misses. On the 387-yard, par-4 10th, Woods rolled one in for birdie from 20 feet. On the 410-yard, par-4 11th, he rolled one in from 3 feet for birdie. On the 193-yard, par-3 12th, he rolled one in from 8 feet. 

A look at Tiger’s putts outside of tap-ins: 1, made 6-footer; 4, missed 15-footer; 5, missed 20-footer; 6, missed 7-footer; 10, made 20-footer; 11, made 3-footer; 12, made 8-footer; 14, made 2-footer; 18, missed 7-footer. 

Worst shot 

It came on the 193-yard, par-3 12th, where he flew the green to the left. Charlie followed with a shot to 8 feet. “Way to go, kid, you bailed me out again,” Hicks said on the broadcast. 

How did Tiger Woods look?

Good. Better than Saturday’s first round. But the right-leg limp was noticeable, especially when Team Woods was moving up the leaderboard and Dad was tapping into 15-time-major-winner Tiger more than 10-month-removed-from-major-surgeries Tiger.  

On the 558-yard, par-5 5th, after coming up short of the green on his second shot, Woods grimmaced, then flexed his right knee. “Hate to see this,” Jacobsen said. On the 410-yard, par-4 11th, after a drive that drew a “looks like he’s really going after it” comment from Jacobsen, he grimmaced while walking back to his cart. On the 425-yard, par-4 16th, after a drive down the fairway, he flexed the knee again and looked down. 

That all being said, it was the first 36 holes of golf he had played, amazingly, since last year’s PNC. (Woods had back surgery after the event.) And he and his 12-year-old son shot a scramble 57.

What’s next?

Work. On Saturday, Woods said it would take hitting “thousands upon thousands of golf balls” to get back to Tour form. 

Of course, you’ve come this far and want something more definitive. Also Saturday, none other than Lee Trevino said he knows when — not if — Woods will return. You heard it here last then — he’ll play in 2022, and the first start will come at the Open Championship and St. Andrews. 

Where he’s won twice.  

The last word(s)

“I’m just really tired.” Tiger Woods on the broadcast. 

“I don’t think there’s any question — he’s in full grind mode.” Koch on the broadcast.  

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It might be the PGA Tour’s “silly season,” but golf fans are still glued to their TV screens this weekend. The reason? Tiger Woods and his son, Charlie, are in the field at the PNC Championship.

After a successful debut in the event last winter, the duo is back again this year for another run at the crown. Tiger is still on the mend from his serious car accident earlier this year, but thanks to the friendly two-man scramble format, the 15-time major winner is in action for the first time in 2021.

The duo has been the star of the show all week, and there have been plenty of heart-warming moments captured through the lenses of photographers on site. Check out below for some of the best shots of Team Woods this week in Orlando.

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ORLANDO, Fla. — Jim Thorpe, a PGA Tour fixture in the 1980s and ’90s, was watching the golf here on Saturday. He likes watching the golf, the PNC Championship, the old father-son event. Somebody asked Thorpe, “In your life, who have you met that knows the most about golf?”

“Hogan,” Thorpe said.

Ben Hogan, the man who made the 1-iron cool. His name, which never goes dormant, is even more in circulation now, as Tiger Woods attempts to do what Hogan did more than 70 years ago, return to golf after a devastating car accident.

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“Well, Hogan and Trevino,” Thorpe said, refining his answer. Lee Trevino was nearby at the time, here at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club. Trevino is 82 and playing in the PNC for the 24th-straight time. He’s the only person to have played in all of them. As a golf mind, Trevino is at the Mensa level.

If you’re on a golf course during a lightning storm, Trevino once said, hold up your 1-iron. Why? “Because even God can’t hit a 1-iron,” Trevino said.

It’s a hoary old line, but worth trotting out, right about now. This is an event, like the Masters and not many others, where the game gets handed down, one generation to the next.

When Woods hosted his first Champions Dinner at Augusta, in 1998, Sarazen was in the room. Gene Sarazen, the man who invented the sand iron, who played elite golf 100 years ago, got to know Woods, and Woods got to know Sarazen. Maybe not well, but they shook hands and then some. People used to say, I shook the hand of the man who shook the hand of the man who shook the hand of President Lincoln. You know, history. Pass it on.

Trevino landed in the game when Arnold Palmer was at the height of his powers, amid golf’s glamor-boom, the swinging ’60s. Trevino can talk about Palmer all day and into the night — if he’s in the mood. That’s a notable if.

This is an NBC Sports event. You could also say it’s an Arnold event. Arnold was an NBC guy and a denizen of Orlando. The corporate roots of PNC are in Pittsburgh. Arnold was a Pittsburgh guy and welcome in all its banks. (Palmer didn’t like debt. Banks like to lend money to people who don’t need it.) Standing on colorful elevated stages, in strategic spots throughout the course, were Cadillac vehicles. Arnold was Cadillac guy.

Instruction

Palmer is the patron saint of this event. Now that he’s gone — dead a half-decade already — there is Trevino and there is Gary Player and there, believe it or not, is Tiger Woods.

This event is a chance for golf to do what golf can do, hand the game down one generation to the next. That’s why Trevino’s presence here is important. That’s why the most meaningful thing to happen here this week, on some super granular level, was for Trevino to give a lesson to Charlie Woods, Tiger’s 12-year-old son. Tiger watched. That’s all he did. He watched. There’s a lot to be said for that.

“Trevino is such a golf genius,” a reporter asked Woods Saturday night. “What was it like for you watching Trevino give a lesson to Charlie?”

“He wasn’t really giving a lesson to Charlie,” Woods said. “He was just talking. Like he does. I got a chance to be around Lee quite a bit early in my career, the quality of strike. Now he’s 82 years old. It’s not what it used to be, but he finds the middle of the face each and every time. I don’t care how old you are.

“The audio. He still has the audio. And he still has the shape of shots. It doesn’t go as far now. But no one has control of that golf ball, not as well as he has. The old balata ball into the wind, the shots he played, how he did it, hardpan in Texas, and it transferred to pretty much everywhere around the world. People would just sit there and listen. Just listen. You walk on range, and you know the guys who know how to hit a golf ball. Lee was that guy.”

If you want to know why Fred Couples cried at his World Golf Hall of Fame induction, when he mentioned Lee Trevino, the answer is in the preceding paragraph.

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If you want to know how many majors Tiger Woods would have won had the game stayed as a persimmon-and-steel-and-balata game, read his quote above.

If you want to know what era Tiger wished he played in, read his quote above.

A guess here is that Tiger will be coming to this event for many years to come, good lord willing and the creek don’t rise. He has a son. Someday he may have golfing grandchildren. Arnold used to play in this event with his grandson, Sam Saunders. Another grandson, Will Wears, played in the pro-am portion this week with Palmer’s longtime business manager, Alastair Johnston.

Trevino’s partner here is his athletic and youngest son, Daniel. Trevino played from the forward tees. He stood slightly shut on most shots, took the club slightly outside, dropped it slightly in and hit low draws all the way around the course. It was magical to watch.

When he got near a green, he sometimes started making practice strokes with his putter long before he reached his ball. When he came off the green, he sometimes started making practice swings for his next shot. When he ate a banana, it was slowly and methodically. He moves when he has to.

He carried two putters.

He had no headcover on his driver.

After a long wait, Trevino hung on the side of his cart, to stretch himself out.

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There’s so much you’d like to ask him. Like, how often should a man get a haircut? Because Trevino’s hair always looks perfect. He’s short and he’s not trim and he looks like a movie star and a man who has lived a life.

The Trevinos made an eagle on the par-5 last and Trevino stopped and talked to reporters for about three minutes. He was asked about his range session with Charlie, Tiger watching. Here’s what Trevino said:

“See, now that I’ve turned 82, I’m in Vegas every week. It stays in Vegas. We had a great conversation yesterday. It was beautiful. It would make headlines.

“He and I are good buddies. I’ve known him since he was eight years old. Appreciate him, very much. I know what he’s going through. I’ve gone through these back operations and stuff and whatever time limit you give him, he’ll beat it.”

Trevino was done. Trevino was hungry. Trevino is ornery, or he can be. You know, geniuses aren’t easy.

Michael Bamberger may be reached at Michael.Bamberger@Golf.com.

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“Welcome back, Big Cat!”

At a little after 12:15 p.m. ET on Saturday, at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club in Orlando, Fla., during the first round of the PNC Championship, Tiger Woods hit his first shot in a competitive round since a car crash in late February left him, at one point, facing the possibility of right leg amputation. The 15-time major champion’s ball traveled about 300 yards and finished down the right side of the fairway. And a shout from a fan along the ropes pierced through the cheers. 

Over the next five-plus hours, Woods and son Charlie took 62 shots in the parent-child event and are three strokes out of the lead heading into Sunday’s final round. While it may be difficult to glean much from a scramble — a “hit and giggle,” Woods called it, where the pressure is less — there were shots to note from Woods’ return. And shots to forget. Below is the best of everything from the day from Woods. And some of the worst. 

Best shot (best iron shot, too)

It came on Woods’ second on the 529-yard, par-5 3rd — and came one shot after one of his worst (more on that in a sec). From 232 yards out, Woods stuffed an iron to 7 feet. Team Woods finished with a birdie.  

“This was vintage Tiger Woods — 220 yards, long iron to a par-5, and this one almost went in,” analyst Brandel Chamblee said after the NBC broadcast. “Just had that look.”

In addition, Woods hit the green, from 257 yards out, with his second shot on the 558-yard, par-5 5th, and he was home in two, from 256 yards out, on the 585-yard, par-5 14th. 

Best tee shot 

It came on the 410-yard, par-4 11th and traveled around 300 yards. “That drive was pounded,” announcer Dan Hicks said on the NBC broadcast. Notably, Golf Channel’s Ryan Lavner tweeted that Woods was touching over 170 mph ball speed, and this appeared close to that. More on this drive in a minute, too. 

Best putt 

There were two, and they came on the 387-yard, par-4 10th hole and the 410-yard, par-4 11th. After Team Woods had parred four holes in a row, Tiger dropped a 6-footer for birdie on the 10th, and another 6-footer for birdie on the 11th. 

Worst shot 

Of course, not every shot was sublime, nor could it have been expected to be so. But on Woods’ second tee shot, on the 410-yard, par-4 2nd, he pounded his ball well out to the right and was not used. Then, on the next hole, the 529-yard, par-5 3rd, Woods hit his tee shot well out to the left and into bushes. In all, these were Woods’ driving stats — 14 possible tee shots, four tee shots not hit, five fairways hit, five fairways missed. 

Best moment 

Let’s give it to Charlie. After finishing up play on the 193-yard, par-3 12th, Tiger, Charlie and their playing partners, the son-father duo of pro Justin Thomas and dad Mike, played a putting contest from 60 feet out, according to Golf Digest’s Dan Rapaport. Only Tiger missed, and Charlie’s make gave us this:     

Honorable mention best moment came after his best drive. Woods also outdrove Justin Thomas on 11, and NBC analyst Notah Begay reported that Woods did a double-check of his and Thomas’ ball — just to be sure. 

Afterward, Woods was asked if any words were exchanged.

“I don’t think he needed to,” he said. “Just, yeah, he really didn’t need to say anything. I was just so embarrassed that he hit it past me that that was enough.”

How did Tiger Woods look?

Good. Better than perhaps Friday, when he played in the pro-am and skipped several shots on the back nine. But Woods’ limp became more noticeable as the day wore on, and on the 425-yard, par-4 16th, he grimaced after his tee shot.   

“Ooh, Notah, you couldn’t help but see he had a little grimace on his face after he hit that shot and bent down to grab that tee,” analyst Peter Jacobsen said on the NBC broadcast. “I just don’t want him to try too hard and do too much.” 

“I think there’s only one type of try in him,” Begay said.  

The firsts of his return 

First tee shot: About 300 yards down the right side of the fairway on the 1st hole. 

First iron shot: From 127 out on the 1st, Woods hits it on the green, but short and 20 feet from the pin.  

First putt: After taking Charlie’s approach shot on the 1st, Charlie misses the 5-footer for birdie, then dad drains it.  

First shot around the green: While this is hard to see in a scramble, Tiger and Charlie both missed the green on the 363-yard, par-4 7th, and the elder Woods chipped to 2 feet. To note, and perhaps as expected as it was likely the shot practiced the most in his rehab, Woods was strong from 100 yards and in — on the 10th, 11th and 13th holes, he hit wedges to within 6 feet. 

First birdie: First hole. In all, Team Woods made 10 birdies, eight pars and no bogies. 

The last word

“It’s frustrating when I don’t hit the ball as far as I know that I can and the shots that I see don’t come off the way I want. I hit two good shots today — well, three, they came off exactly how I wanted to. By old numbers, but as I explained to you guys down in the Bahamas, I don’t have endurance. I haven’t played. This is, what, my fourth, fifth round the entire year. I don’t have any golf endurance.

“It’s tiring out there, so it was a slow day. But that’s something that I’m going to have to, if I want to compete out here at the Tour level, I’m going to have to get the endurance back and hit thousands upon thousands of golf balls. Just takes time.”

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We’ve reached the final round of the 2021 PNC Championship in Orlando, Fla. Below, find everything you need to tune in to Tiger Woods’ return to golf on Sunday, including TV schedule, tee times and more.

PNC Championship final round preview

The Tiger Woods show has proved plenty entertaining through two days (counting the pro-am) at the PNC Championship. Woods has looked good, if slightly gimpy, swinging with ease and surprising precision for a player who’s been removed from professional golf for a year. He put distance concerns to bed on Saturday, poking a few drives that managed to reach PGA Tour average swing speed, which considering his still improving health, would seem to be an optimistic sign.

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Charlie has proved Tiger’s entertainment equal through two days as well, providing a handful of highlight-reel shots (and more than his fair share of laugh-out-loud moments). On Saturday, Charlie drained a 60-footer in a putting competition with Tiger and Justin Thomas, then flashed his finest Jerry Maguire ‘show me the money’ in Thomas’ direction.

As for the actual competition, Stewart and Reagan Cink are in lockstep atop the tournament. The father-son (and player-caddie) pair hold a one-stroke lead over John and Little John Daly, and Justin and Mike Thomas. Team Cink enters the final round at 13 under.

How to watch PNC Final Round on TV

You can catch the final round of the PNC Championship across the NBC family of networks on Saturday. Coverage begins at 12:30 p.m. ET on Golf Channel, before switching over to NBC at 1 for the remainder of the action. If you find yourself too locked into your fantasy football playoff matchups to watch live, fear not! A re-air will run from 5-9 p.m. ET on Golf Channel.

Sunday, December 19: 12:30-1 p.m. ET (Golf Channel); 1-4:30 p.m. ET (NBC); 5-9 p.m. ET (Golf Channel re-air)

How to stream PNC Final Round

Peacock will have exclusive early coverage of Sunday at the 2021 PNC Championship beginning at 11:00 a.m. ET. You can then stream the Golf Channel and NBC Sunday coverage on Peacock, or on their respective sites.

SIGN UP FOR PEACOCK PREMIUM TO WATCH THE 2021 PNC CHAMPIONSHIP, THEN ENJOY EVERYTHING THE PLATFORM PROVIDES

PNC Championship final round tee times (ET)

Tee No. 1

9:15 a.m. – Brady and David Duval, Padraig and Paddy Harrington
9:28 a.m. – Michael and Tom Watson, Tanner and Jim Furyk
9:41 a.m. – Michael and Rich Beem, Greg and Nick Price
9:54 a.m. – Petr and Nelly Korda, Daniel and Lee Trevino
10:07 a.m. – Shaun and Mark O’Meara, Bubba Watson and Wayne Ball
10:20 a.m. – Daniel and Tom Lehman, Karl and Henrik Stenson
10:33 a.m. – Matthew and Nick Faldo, Jordan and Gary Player
10:46 a.m. – Charlie and Tiger Woods, Cameron and Matt Kuchar
10:59 a.m. – Mike and Justin Thomas, Qass and Vijay Singh
11:12 a.m. – Reagan and Stewart Cink, John Daly and John II

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Charlie Woods, in one of the lighter moments of Saturday’s first round of the PNC Championship, saw his dad hit his tee shot on the par-3 4th into a right greenside bunker, then shrugged his shoulders and sighed. He’d have to carry, ahem, Tiger Woods again. 

And he would do so with 39 extra yards. 

Charlie Woods and Karl Stenson, the other player under the age of 13 in the parent-child scramble event, are not playing from the tips at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club. Instead, they’ll watch their famous fathers hit, then walk ahead 1,070 yards over the course of the round. 

Notably, there are four sets of tees. The pros are playing from the 7,106-yard “red” tees; the 6,576-yard “white” tees are being used by pros and family members ages 55–73, Nelly Korda and family members ages 14 and 15; the 6,036-yard reds are for Charlie Woods and Karl Stenson; and the 5,499-yard “blue” tees are for Lee Trevino and Gary Player, the pros who are over 73. 

Notably, too, according to dad, are that Charlie’s reds have been moved up from a year ago, when the now-12-year-old made his PNC debut. 

“We don’t have quite the same advantages that we had last year,” Tiger Woods said.    

Below is a look at Charlie’s tees and Tiger’s tees:

Red (Charlie Woods) tees — 6,036 yards 

330-yard, par-4 1st
335-yard, par-4 2nd
465-yard, par-5 3rd
139-yard, par-3 4th
509-yard, par-5 5th
367-yard, par-4 6th
320-yard, par-4 7th
167-yard, par-3 8th
371-yard, par-4 9th
336-yard, par-4 10th
350-yard, par-4 11th
145-yard, par-3 12th
317-yard, par-4 13th
470-yard, par-5 14th
423-yard par-4 15th
345-yard, par-4 16th
172-yard, par-3 17th
475-yard, par-4 18th

Yellow (Tiger Woods) tees — 7,106 yards 

387-yard, par-4 1st
410-yard, par-4 2nd
529-yard, par-5 3rd
178-yard, par-3 4th
558-yard, par-5 5th
422-yard, par-4 6th
363-yard, par-4 7th
214-yard, par-3 8th
453-yard, par-4 9th
387-yard, par-4 10th
410-yard, par-4 11th
193-yard, par-3 12th
352-yard, par-4 13th
585-yard, par-5 14th
467-yard, par-4 15th
425-yard, par-4 16th
216-yard, par-3 17th
557-yard, par-5 18th 

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