Woods and son Charlie shoot bogey-free 62 at PNC Championship
Tiger Woods looked solid but not entirely pain-free on his
return to competition after a car crash in February that shattered his leg,
teaming up with his 12-year-old son Charlie to shoot a bogey-free 62 at the PNC
Championship on Saturday(Dec 18).
Woods received a huge ovation from spectators after he
crushed his tee-shot on the par-four first hole onto the fairway on a warm day
at the relaxed non-PGA Tour event in Orlando.
Tiger and Charlie wore matching peach-coloured shirts and
black trousers playing alongside Justin Thomas and his dad Mike at the
tournament, which features 19 father-son pairs and the father-daughter team of
Nelly Korda and her dad Petr.
Team Woods finished tied for fifth place, three strokes
behind leaders Team Cink going into Sunday's second and final round.
"It was awesome," a smiling Woods said after the
round, where he and Charlie had 10 birdies.
"It was a boatload of fun for all of us. Charlie and I
had a great day playing with the Thomas family. It just couldn't get any better
than that."
Thomas said he was "blown away" by Tiger's game.
"Some of the shots he was hitting and the speed that he
had was just awesome," he said.
The tournament marks Team Woods's second time playing in the
competition, having finished seventh last year.
Woods has said he is a long way from being able to compete
in a PGA Tour event after the one-car accident near Los Angeles 10 months ago
nearly led to his leg being amputated.
He used a cart to get around the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club and
looked to have a slight limp when walking. He grimaced in apparent discomfort
after hitting a tee shot on the par-four 16th.
"Oh yeah, I'm tired," Woods said.
"Even though I had the chance to ride the cart, I'm not
in golf shape.
"Like anything, if you don't have to endure it you
start slowing down. It's nice to have a partner who can hit drives like he did
and make a few putts."
Woods, who endured four back surgeries and multiple knee
operations in his career before undergoing a back fusion procedure in 2017, has
not set a time frame to return to the PGA Tour but said last month he would
love to play in the British Open next July.
The 45-year-old American is tied with Sam Snead for the most
wins on the PGA Tour with 82, and his 15 major championships puts him three shy
of Jack Nicklaus's record of 18 major titles.
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