Tiger Woods has a familiar face as his caddie on the bag this week at the 2024 PNC Championship in Orlando, Fla. The looper is a familiar name to Woods and for many of Woods' long-term fans.
Sam Woods, Tiger's daughter, is Woods' caddie this week at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club, as Woods doesn't have a full-time caddie after long-time looper Joe LaCava went to work with Patrick Cantlay -- with Woods' blessing and encouragement -- in May 2023 at the Wells Fargo Championship.
Woods played sparingly in 2024, which really doesn't necessitate a full-time caddie. This year, he played in the four major championships and The Genesis Invitational, which he hosts, and that was pretty much it.
In the meanwhile, Sam Woods will carry the bag this week. Woods' daughter is just working the two weekend rounds with a carry bag.
Woods decided to play, in large part, because he was able to walk the course just enough, with the assistance of a cart at times, to be able to get through the event. Woods can't swing especially hard off the tee at the moment, but he's hopeful that his son, Charlie, will be able to use his power off the tee to leave the duo shorter shots into greens.
Woods has been sidelined by his sixth significant back surgery of his career, coming back in September -- a microdecompression surgery of the lumbar spine for nerve impingement in the lower back.
On Sept. 13, Woods tweeted about the surgery, including saying, "The surgery went smoothly, and I'm hopeful this will help alleviate the back spasms and pain I was experiencing throughout most of the 2024 season," he said. "I look forward to tackling this rehab and preparing myself to back to normal life activities, including golf."
Woods didn't play in his Hero World Challenge just a few weeks ago in the Bahamas, but he chose to play in this event because of what it means to him to play with his son and be on the same team as his daughter.
"We want to win, but it's about the bonding. It's about having the family," Woods said this week. "It's about us having a father-son moment together. Last year I had Sam on the bag. It was her first time ever carrying. This is a family event.
"You look at all the players and their families, the sons, their grandsons, granddaughters, this is what this tournament is about. It's about family."
