Tiger Woods made a rare appearance with both of his look-alike children at the PNC Championship at Ritz-Carlton Golf Club in Orlando on Saturday, December 21.
Tiger, 48, played alongside his son Charlie Woods, 15, while his daughter, Sam Woods, 17, served as caddy. Their mother, Tiger’s ex-wife Elin Nordegren, was in the gallery during the tournament.
Tiger and the teens posed for photos on the green following the first round of competition. The tournament concludes Sunday after another 18-hole round.
“To be our here in this environment and to have fun like this – it doesn’t get any better,” Woods told NBC of sharing the course with his son. “This week is for each other, and we’re just rooting so hard for each of us to pull off each shot that we want.”
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The PNC Championship provides a unique experience for pro golfers as they get to team up with a family member for the PGA Tour Champions-sanctioned event. According to ESPN, Tiger and Charlie ran off five straight birdies on the back nine on Saturday for a 13-under 59 in the scramble format, giving them a share of the lead after the opening round. They were joined at the top by the previous two champions — Bernhard Langer and son Jason, 24, and Vijay Singh and son Qass, 34.
“We’re trying to pull off each and every shot for each other, and to ham-and-egg,” Tiger said, according to the outlet. “And I think we did that great pretty much the entire day. We picked each other up, which was great. And Charlie made pretty much most of the putts today.”
The PNC Championship is Tiger’s first competition since he underwent back surgery in September. At the event, he reportedly said he scheduled that surgery — the sixth on his lower back in the past 10 years — to be sure he recovered in time to play with Charlie for the fifth straight year.
Tiger also spoke to PGA Tour about Charlie’s blossoming golf career at Saturday’s tournament, saying his son has grown “3.5 to 4 inches in height” and has gotten “stronger, faster, heavier” since last year. He admitted they “needle” each other at home in a competitive spirit, but “it’s all love, that’s what it’s all about. I love him to death.”
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Tiger also shared the advice he’s given his son to deal with the pressure of competing under the name “Woods.”
“I just always remind him ‘Just be you,’” Tiger said, according to CNN. “Charlie is Charlie. Yes, he’s my son, he’s gonna have that last name as part of the sport, but I just want him to just be himself, you know, and be your own person. That’s what we’ll always focus on, and we’ll always encourage it, for him just to carve his own name, to carve his own path and have his own journey.”
