Tiger Woods knows it's going to happen someday, but he's trying to put it off for as long as possible. He's trying to make sure his son, Charlie, doesn't beat him in an 18-hole round of golf.
"[Charlie] beat me for nine holes, has yet to beat me for 18 holes yet," Woods said Friday at the PNC Championship in Orlando. "That day is coming, I'm just prolonging it as long as I possibly can. But we just have so much fun going out there and competing and playing."
The father-son duo are teaming up once again in the 20-pair, 36-hole scramble to see if they can take down the title. In 2021, the Woods' came the closest they've been to the championship belts at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club's Grande Lakes course. They finished second that week. Last year, they were fifth.
Charlie Woods is a better golfer than he was a year ago. He has beat his father for nine holes, but it's never happened for a full round. The younger Woods has improved in all facets of the game, but his driver ball speed of nearly 180 mph is perhaps most impressive. That puts him in equal company among the majority of PGA Tour pros.
Join Golf News Net for $10 per year, and go ad-free!Charlie's father chalks that up to just growing.
"He's grown so much since last year," Tiger said. "I think he's put on three and a half, four inches in height. It's been a moving target. He got stronger, faster, heavier."
Tiger Woods, who turns 49 on December 30, was unsure if he could even play in this event. He had back surgery in September, and he doesn't have his typical game as he recovers. However, he decided to play because this event means that much to him and his son.
"I'm not competitively good right now, but I just wanted to be able to have the experience again," Woods said. "This has always been one of the bigger highlights of the year for us as a family, and now we get to have that moment together again."
Just because it's father-son bonding time, though, doesn't mean there's not going to be some back-and-forth between the two inside the ropes.
"There's always chirping. There's nonstop banter. That's the fun part," said Tiger. "We just have fun and give the needle as much as you possibly can because you're going to have to take it."
