ORLANDO – After a birdie at 17th hole, Justin Leonard stood at 18th tee at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club and waited to hit his tee shot. Realizing that he and his son Luke had finally removed the shirt, he snapped: “I’m going to soak this up because I finally got the honors.”
Tiger Woods and the gallery all laughed. Tiger and Charlie Woods birdied the final to shoot a 13-under 59 to share the PNC Championship lead with Team Langer and Team Singh.
“Let it be known, we would still have the honor if there was still golf to be played,” Justin Leonard told Tiger after sinking an eagle putt at the last.
But it was Team Woods – with daughter Sam on dad’s bag and ex-wife Elin Nordegren in the gallery – who dazzled with 13 birdies on a sunny but chilly Saturday in a 20-team field including 11 alumni world n°1, 69 majors. titles and 1,080 professional victories in total between these legends.
“We picked ourselves back up, which was great. And Charlie made most of the putts today,” Tiger said.
PCN: Photos of Tiger and Charlie
For the second day in a row, Tiger, who underwent his sixth back surgery in September, walked all 18 holes in an event where competitors are allowed to take a cart, under Champions Tour rules. He didn’t need to make a putt for the first five holes as Charlie took care of business on the greens en route to a 6-under 30 score on the front nine. At the ninth, Charlie hit his approach a little low into the clubface, but it went very well, stopping 10 feet from the hole. However, Charlie was not satisfied.
“Daddy, don’t hit like I did,” he muttered. “Please hit him harder than me.”
Sam Woods, who caddied for his father for the second year in a row, retorted: “You are so negative. »
Ah, family fun at its peak during this joyous holiday season.
Team Woods started the back nine with a birdie, then strung together five birdies in a row starting at No. 12.
“Here we are,” Woods said. “There are a bunch of teams that are up there. We’ll have to shoot on another field tomorrow. And you know, make a bunch of birdies and hopefully we can do that and get a good start and then build on it in the back nine.
Vjay Singh and his son, Qass, who won this event in 2022, scored a 14 in the round of 16. Qass credited his father with doing the heavy lifting.
“His back hurts a lot,” Qass said.
Bernhard Langer and his son Jason are the defending champions and well placed to defend their title. Ten years ago, Bernhard Langer won the first of five titles (three times with Jason and twice with Stefan).
“Jason made some wonderful putts and hit some really good shots. I am very proud of the way he played, and we are happy to be co-leaders at this stage and at this time,” Bernhard said.
Padraig Harrington and his son Paddy, along with Tom Lehman and his son Sean, who finished with a 4-putt bogey in the final, are one stroke off the pace heading into the final round of the 36-hole team event.
“It’s going to be a shootout. It’s anyone within three or four shots who has a chance to win,” said Vijay Singh.
Tiger, playing competitively for the first time since the British Open in July, downplayed the importance of winning this week. Similarly, Charlie noted that he tried too hard to win last year when Team Woods finished T-3 and that the goal this year was just to have fun, a phrase Tiger and Charlie repeated several times. times. What winning would mean for Charlie: “I don’t know, we need to figure that out first. We have to get there, and then I’ll tell you.
This article was originally published on Golfweek: Tiger Woods and Charlie share 2024 PNC Championship lead
