The post ‘He’s the best ever’: Lee Trevino revealed a grip tip to Tiger, Charlie Woods appeared first on Golf.

The post ‘He’s the best ever’: Lee Trevino revealed a grip tip to Tiger, Charlie Woods appeared first on Golf.

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.

Instruction

“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.

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

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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The post ‘I’ve never seen anybody do that’: Tiger Woods golf ball trick stumps analyst appeared first on Golf.

The post ‘I’ve never seen anybody do that’: Tiger Woods golf ball trick stumps analyst appeared first on Golf.

Tiger Woods, ahead of the final round of the PNC Championship, took one ball with his right hand, flipped it forward, and it near-instantly checked on the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club practice green a yard or so ahead of him. A few seconds later, he did it a second time. 

Before we go any further, please note that Sunday’s most important event is still Woods playing golf just days short of a 10-month anniversary of a car crash that left him, at one point, facing the possibility of right leg amputation, shooting a ridiculous 15-under 57 with his 12-year-old son, Charlie, at his side in the parent-child scramble and damn near winning the event. And that the following discussion of this Tiger Twist is maybe trivial. OK, let’s continue. 

Because … 

“I’ve seen Tiger do some amazing things, as we all have, but I’ve never seen him do what he just did. I’ve never seen anybody do what he just did. I don’t even know how he did it. I mean, I’ve heard of the ball spin too much, but he’s throwing these balls out on the green and snap ’em back — I’ve never seen anybody do that.”

By now, you, Tiger Woods fan, have seen most every important Tiger Woods shot, red shirt and fist-pump there is. And Brandel Chamblee has seen most of them all, too, if not more. So when the former Tour pro and longtime analyst notes that even he’s never seen Woods, or any golfer, do the Twist, even if he’s saying so a little tongue in cheek on Sunday on Golf Channel, you turn your head. At least a little. 

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So on Monday, a day after Tiger turned back the clock and Charlie maybe gave us a look into the future, I went back and watched it again. I slowed it down to 1/16 speed even. Don’t say I don’t try. Anyway, here’s what I found. 

Pinching the ball between his thumb and his index and middle fingers, Woods twisted his right elbow and wrist upward as he flicked both forward to create the backspin on the ball. (Think of the motion used for a curveball in baseball.) Notably, too, he held his hand palm up for a second afterward. The first ball went no more than a yard, bounced, rolled maybe an inch and stopped. The second ball rolled less than the first. 

All the while, Woods smiled, Stewart Cink’s caddie looked on and Charlie putted a few feet away. (The video is below.) 

“Is he pretty proud of himself right there — like, check this out?” analyst and former player John Cook said.  

“I would be if I could do that,” Chamblee said. 

“We are officially easily amused,” announcer Rich Lerner said. 

Indeed. The Twist may be rare. But it’s also not unattainable. While Woods said he’ll need to hit thousands of balls to get back to Tour level, you can do his move with at least half that number. Or less. For Chamblee, it brought to mind another flick trick he once saw.

“We’re standing on the tee waiting for the group in front of us, and he takes a tee and he’s got it in his hand and he throws it at the ground and it sticks in the ground,” he said. And he picks it up and did it again. I was like, give me that tee. Is that a weighted tee or something? So I tried it and I couldn’t do it. 

“But I spent the next three, four months getting to where I could do it. The key, you got to snap it just right, and you got to release it just right. I was so proud of that move. You know, I’d do it every now and again and somebody would go, well, how do you do that? I’m like I’m not telling you. 

“But that pales in comparison to throwing a golf ball out onto the green and getting it to spin back.” 

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The post ‘He’s not that far away’: Pros assess state of Tiger Woods’ game at PNC Championship appeared first on Golf.

The post ‘He’s not that far away’: Pros assess state of Tiger Woods’ game at PNC Championship appeared first on Golf.

Tiger Woods made his return to competitive golf last weekend at the PNC Championship, and it sent waves through the golf world. Yes, the event was just a parent-child scramble that’s a far cry from the cut-throat stakes of major championship golf, but considering where the 15-time major winner was just 10 months prior, even teeing it up alongside Charlie was a monumental achievement.

The field in Orlando was stocked with major champions, legends of the game, and even a world No. 1, but Tiger was still commanded all the attention. When Nelly Korda met Tiger for the first time, she gushed like a teen talking to their crush. Justin and Mike Thomas arrived at the Ritz-Carlton as defending champs, but their interviews revolved around the state of Tiger’s game. And Team Daly set a tournament scoring record as they held off a furious Sunday charge by Team Woods, but Tiger and Charlie were the main draw. Tiger is still the needle.

Instruction

Now, after a week of tape on Tiger’s new swing, the state of his game is becoming more clear. Although he set low expectations for his comeback earlier this month in the Bahamas, the first step in this comeback offered plenty to be optimistic about. Could he tee it up in a Tour event tomorrow if given the chance? Probably not. But his game is still miles ahead of where many predicted.

In some ways, the PNC Championship made the picture of Tiger’s game clearer. But in others, it muddied the waters even more. In reality, there is no one on the planet who can accurately assess Tiger’s game other than the man himself. But if there’s anybody who can attempt to give a quality assessment, it’s those who know his game and have seen it up close for years and year— his fellow pros.

Here’s what a few of them had to say about Tiger’s game when they were asked about it in Orlando.

Justin Thomas

“In terms of hitting shots and all that stuff, he’s not that far away. But in terms of being able to compete and walk 72 holes multiple weeks in a row, yeah, that’s a different story and he’s the only one that can answer that. But man, I was so impressed by the speed that he had and the shots he was hitting. At least from my perspective, it looked like a lot of the moves and everything were there. It just was if anything, a little short, which is probably — naturally you would think he’s not going to hit it as far but man, like that 4-iron he hit into three today that was just ridiculous. I looked at him and as soon as he sat in the cart, he just kind of looked at me and smiles and I knew exactly that that’s the kind of shots that he hits when he’s healthy.”

Lee Trevino

“I know when he’s going to play and when he’s not. He already told me all that stuff. He and I are good buddies. We’ve been good — 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.”

Nick Faldo

“He seems like he can’t push. When he commented earlier in the week, he said he can’t really do this with his foot, can he, so walking flat courses is a possibility. Everybody wants to talk about Augusta but that’s the toughest walk of the year, isn’t it, downhill — you get shin splints being fit. Look what he’s done to his upper body. It’s just kind of dragging or pulling the right leg around. I’m not sure how much drive or thrust he’s got from that right ankle. But he’s certainly decided, well, I’m physically strong enough up top to swing it that way or muscle it that way because it looks good.”

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The post Tour Confidential: Tiger Woods’ week, Tiger’s future and Charlie appeared first on Golf.

The post Tour Confidential: Tiger Woods’ week, Tiger’s future and Charlie appeared first on Golf.

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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The post No family anywhere is the same. That’s what makes the PNC so unique (and great) appeared first on Golf.

The post No family anywhere is the same. That’s what makes the PNC so unique (and great) appeared first on Golf.

ORLANDO — If the PNC Championship that wrapped up here teaches us anything, it’s that families, like putting strokes, do not come pre-packaged, one-size-fits-all.

Consider the winners here, the John Dalys, the original and his namesake son. Nobody is confusing them with Davis Love III (aka Trip) and Davis Love IV (aka Dru), despite the shared affinity for country music and camper living and their success in this fathers-and-sons-and-others event.

But when the John Dalys hugged in victory on Sunday night they looked pretty much like the Davis Loves did when they hugged at this event three years ago.

Asked Sunday what keeps him in the game, the elder Daly skipped right over money — you know, it’s gauche to talk about money as a motivator — and said instead what Davis Love has said, what Jack Nicklaus has said, what every past and future headliner winner of this event has or would say: “I think it’s love for the game, but it’s also love for my son — to be able to play with him — and love for family. Whether we win or lose. I enjoy being out here. Competing. Being on his team.”

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It’s a powerful idea, the concept of family as a team. It’s been around for 10,000 years.

Part of what makes this event work is its mid-December dates, Thanksgiving turkey finally gone, more holidays coming, National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation in the VCR. (The movie came out in ’89. As Steely Dan is best played on a turntable, NLCV is best played on a VCR.) Home for the holidays, indeed.

Man, that JD2 can roll his golf ball. John Daly1, in his brief and exciting prime, was a spectacular glove on, very wristy, full release, see-ball, hit-ball putter. Maybe the last great one we’ll ever see in that style. But his son, who plays at Arkansas, has a classic, modern, semi-robotic, dependable putting stroke that Stan Utley would show his pupils on the heading Do This. It’s perfect.

They won because of the father’s chipping and wedge game and the son’s putting.

It’s odd to think that there was once a popular American TV show called “Father Knows Best” and people bought into it. The nuclear family, dinner at six, mom in her apron. John Daly didn’t grow up with that and his kids didn’t grow up with that. But father taught son, by deed if not by word, that chicks do dig the long ball, but you putt for dough.

The winning team gets $200,000. The son cannot collect his now and stay amateur but if all goes well he’ll get it eventually. It’s a USGA thing, and an NCAA thing. For now.

John Daly, with the life he’s led, could be dead. He has bladder cancer. He smokes like a chimney. (Nelly Korda, who played with Daly in Saturday’s first round, looked at him dragging on a cig on the course with a hint of I’ve never seen that before.) He’s massively overweight. But he of course is not dead.

His backswing is still outrageously long. His Loudmouth duds, announcing his arrival-by-cart from some distant tee, is another form of proof-of-life. He can still make his wedges perform the kind of greenside magic that Bob Jones and Bill Casper and Mickey Wright would have stopped to watch.

Little John Daly dressed like the college kid he is. And he spoke like a certain touring pro who, like his father, won a British Open on the Old Course.

Asked by a reporter about a possible future in professional golf, John Jr. said, “I have plenty of time. I’m still young. So just trying to get more reps in the college field and in amateur events.”

Reps! We all know who introduced that gym word into Standard Golf English.

Tiger Woods his own self.

Woods and his son, Charlie, 12, finished second here. Given Woods’s own brush with mortality this year, on the side of a Los Angeles road early on a weekday morning in late February, it is absolutely astounding that he was able to play here at all, let alone play as well as he did.

Tiger’s family life, as a kid growing up in Cypress, Calif., and as a grown man in Florida, has been dissected to death. As the best player in the world, he married a woman from Sweden, Elin Nordegren. They had two children, a daughter (Sam) and a son (Charlie). They divorced. They share custody of the children. Like millions of other American families, the parents are surely doing the best they can for their children.

But here’s another kind of family that became evident over the course of Saturday and Sunday, here at the PNC. There was a gray electric golf cart marked Tiger Woods. And sometimes Tiger Woods was in it.

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And at other times three other family members were squished across its front seat: Rob McNamara, Tiger’s close friend and confidant, behind the wheel; Tiger’s girlfriend, Erica Herman, riding shotgun; Tiger’s daughter, Sam, sandwiched between them.

A conventional family? No. But a family of a kind. You could tell by the devotion to Tiger’s golf — and to Charlie’s. Erica brought Tiger’s patented red-and-black Sunday outfit to new heights for the finale: a black sundress, red high-top basketball shoes, stamped not with the name Converse but with Christian Dior.

Sam Woods is an eighth-grader who plays soccer for her school team. Tiger is often at her games. Jack Nicklaus had a granddaughter on the same team, and the two golf legends would see each other on the sidelines. This weekend, Sam was on the sidelines, watching and rooting (quietly) for her father and brother.

“Our whole family is very, very, very competitive,” Woods said on Sunday. “We don’t like losing.”

They didn’t lose, here at the PNC. They won, by the rules Tiger established. Have fun, don’t make bogeys. As a team, a father-and-son team.

One father-and-son team finished ahead of them, the John Dalys. JD had a big hit with “All My Exes Wear Rolexes.” Well, one of those exes, the fourth, Sherrie, gave birth to John Daly Jr. And father and son formed quite a team this week. There’s more than one path to the championship belt and there’s more than one way to define the word family.

Michael Bamberger welcomes your comments at Michael.Bamberger@golf.com.

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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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Team Woods was easily the most popular duo at the PNC Championship, but in the end it was Team Daly that took home the hardware.

With a birdie at the 18th hole, John Daly and his son, John Daly II, capped off a record-setting weekend at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club, finishing at 27-under for the tournament to win the parent-child event by two strokes over Team Woods.

Their 27-under total is a record for the PNC Championship.

“It’s just one of the highlights of my life,” Daly said said. “To be able to play in a PGA Tour event with your son and win, it’s pretty daggone special.”

Playing two groups ahead of the Dalys, Tiger and Charlie Woods did everything they could to put pressure on the eventual champs. Starting with the par-4 7th hole, Team Woods reeled off 11 straight birdies to get to 25 under for the tournament heading to the 18th tee.

“We had a little run there,” Woods said.

But needing an eagle at the par-5 finisher to put pressure on Team Daly, Tiger and Charlie could only muster a par to finish off their round of 57. Their 25 under total was good for a solo-second finish. Team Woods did not make a bogey over 36 holes after making two bogeys in their debut in the event last year.

“We made 11 in a row, and on the last hole we knew on the tee box that we needed three to probably get into a playoff or at least make it interesting for the Dalys’ back there,” Woods said. “Unfortunately, we didn’t chip-in and we didn’t make the putts, either. But it was fun.”

Team Daly made 13 birdies (plus an eagle) of their own during their final round, shooting a final-round 57 to set the tournament scoring record. And though they had the tournament well in hand standing on the 18th green, the duo finished in style with a birdie to put a punctuation mark on the week.

“We both just played great,” Daly said. “He played unbelievable yesterday, but I played a little better today, so I made him happy.”

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When news of Tiger Woods’ horrific car accident broke earlier this year, there were legitimate questions as to whether he’d ever be able to play golf competitively again. The accident was so serious that just hours after he was pulled from the mangled wreckage, there was a possibility he would lose his right leg.

But just 10 months later, the 15-time major winner is back on the course, smashing drives and flagging irons. Woods has made many comebacks throughout his career, but his journey back to the PNC Championship to play alongside his son, Charlie, is easily the most impressive.

“We worked every day,” Woods said. “Even days where I didn’t feel very good, we still worked on something. So every day, there was never a day off the entire time other than those three months in bed. I haven’t taken a day off.”

The earlier-than-expected comeback has delighted golf fans, with galleries lining the ropes in Orlando like it’s a major championship and media outlets covering the 15-time major champion’s every move.

It almost feels like old times. Almost.

While seeing Woods out and competing again is a delight, things aren’t all normal. There’s a slight limp in his step as he treks around the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club, and he’ll be the first to tell you he’s still a way off from getting back to the Tour.

“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,” he said. “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. [It] just takes time.”

The lingering effects of his car accident might not be enough to keep him from teeing it up at the PNC Championship, but his swing is not where it needs to be if he aspires to claim another green jacket.

The differences in Woods’ swing are subtle, but if you look closely enough, you can see where his new moves differ from those of old. During the NBC broadcast on Sunday, analyst Gary Koch broke down Woods’ swing from last year versus his swing from this year.

Here are the four biggest changes to Woods’ swing year over year.

1. Flared left foot

The first change Koch pointed out was some additional flaring to Woods’ left foot in the setup. With his toes pointed a little more toward the target, he’s able to put himself in position to clear his hips easier with a slower swing speed.

2. Shorter backswing

Woods also has a shorter backswing in his current-day swing. With his right leg having taken serious damage in the car accident, it likely makes it harder to turn as far back on it at the top of the backswing. Additionally, taking so many months off in 2021 probably deceased his flexibility.

3. Right heel down at impact

At impact, Woods has his right foot noticeably more on the ground than he was last year. Pushing off the injured leg is yet again the cause of this.

“The heel is not nearly as far off the ground,” Koch said.

4. Limited follow-through

The biggest difference in Woods’ swing, though, is how limited he is on the follow-through. As you can see in the picture above, he is not nearly as far onto his front side by the end of his swing.

“He’s not getting over to the front side quite as quickly, and it is very evident in the follow-through,” Koch said. “Much different how he’s able to get around to the left. Easier last year than this year. Not surprising at all considering the injuries he’s sustained to the lower part of the right leg.”

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