It was a family affair this past weekend at the PNC Championship in Orlando, Florida, where sons and daughters teamed up with their professional golfer parents in a two-round scramble tournament.
Bernhard Langer and his son Jason finished atop the leaderboard with a 25-under-par 119, but it was another father-son duo who stole the show: Tiger and Charlie Woods.
The 15-time major champion drained an eagle putt on hole five as "Team Woods" went on to finish six shots back and tied for fifth place. However, it wasn't just the scoreboard or 14-year-old Charlie's chip-in on hole nine that left a smile on the elder Woods' face.
It was also the stare, the finger point, the fist pump and the roar of the crowd that left dad feeling like he was watching a younger version of himself.
"It happened right in front of me," Woods said after the tournament. "He got excited and I looked over at Stricks [golfer Steve Stricker] and he was shaking his head. It was great."
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Adding to it all, Woods' 16-year-old daughter Sam also joined the father-son duo on the course, serving as their caddy for the weekend.
"Sam was fantastic," Woods told reporters after the first round. "This is the first time she's ever done this, so it couldn't have been any more special for all of us."
Carrying the clubs is a duty Tiger knows very much about. Back in September, the 47-year-old Woods caddied for Charlie as his son went on to win the Notah Begay III Junior Golf Last Chance Regional tournament. In an interview after the final round, the younger Woods praised the discipline that dad brings to the course.
"We just stay in our own little world and we just take it one shot at a time and um ... he puts me in my place," Charlie joked.
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As for Tiger, this past weekend's tournament surely won't mark the last time fans can see him back on the course. Speaking to a group of reporters ahead of his Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas last month, Woods hinted at his plans for 2024 and appeared optimistic that he can again be a regular competitor on the PGA Tour.
"Best scenario would be a tournament a month," Woods said. "I think that's realistic."
The statement marked a significant step in his return to competition after undergoing fusion surgery on his ankle in April. At the time, Woods said the operation was to address "post-traumatic arthritis" from a previous fracture he suffered in a horrific high-speed car accident that shattered his right leg in 2021.
Nearly three years later, Woods says his game still feels a bit "rusty" but he no longer feels any pain in the surgically repaired leg that had forced him to withdraw from multiple events this year.
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