The 36-hole parent-child golf event will be played Saturday and Sunday at the Ritz-Carlton in Orlando, Florida. It will be the third consecutive start for the Woods duo, 2021 runners-up.
Pushing through the pain barrier is nothing new to Tiger Woods. Though this time his reasons are less competitive, and more family-focused.
The father-of-two has seen his son, Charlie, take a keen interest in the sport he has dominated.
Woods finds himself fighting through plantar fasciitis in his right foot, and played with Charlie at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club, Friday. His reason for doing so could not be more profound.
As if the two weren’t alike enough, both were spotted limping. Woods later revealed his 13-year-old son recently suffered a sprained ankle.
‘You know, I don’t really care about that,’ Woods remarked at the notion of impeding his recovery, via ESPN.
“I don’t really care about that,” Woods said. “I think being there alongside my son is far more important, and get to have a chance to have this experience with him is far better than my foot being a little creaky.”
It will be just the third time both father and son have competed at the Orlando event, having participated in the previous two years.
The Woods’ finished seventh in 2020, and an agonizing two strokes behind Jon Daly and his boy in 2021.
‘Any time I get a chance to spend time with my son, it’s always special,’ Woods said.
‘And to do it in a competitive forum, the last couple of years have been magical, and to be able to do it again, we’re looking forward to it.’
Woods, who turns 47 on December 30, has played only nine competitive rounds this year as he recovered from severe leg injuries suffered in a 2021 car crash.
After finishing 47th at the Masters in his comeback event, Woods withdrew after three rounds at the PGA Championship with leg pain and missed the cut in July at the British Open at St. Andrews.
“I played more this year than I certainly thought at the beginning of the year,” Woods said. “But I got the chance to play in three major championships. That’s far, far more than what I had expected going into the year. So it has been a positive.”
Woods is uncertain of his 2023 plans but hopes for a return to the majors.
“If I didn’t have the plantar feeling like this, I’d have a better idea,” Woods said. “I’m supposed to be resting this thing and stretching and letting it heal. But I’m not doing that at the moment.”
Woods, whose 82 PGA Tour wins equals Sam Snead for the all-time record, played in a 12-hole exhibition match with carts last weekend but still struggles to walk 18 holes.
“This off season hasn’t really been an off season. I’ve kind of ramped things up,” Woods said. “But after this, come Monday, we shut it all down and take care of this foot so that I can ramp up properly.
“I can practice. I just can’t walk… I can hit golf balls. I can do all that. I can hit shots around the green. I just can’t get from point A to point B.”
Charlie Woods tweaked his ankle Friday, giving him a limp to match that of his father, but the PNC allows players to use golf carts.
“We’ll be ready come game time,” Woods said.
‘He’ll win another major’
Three-time major winner Padraig Harrington, a PNC entrant with his son, says Woods will win another major.
“I’m not saying he ‘could be’ — I actually believe he will be a danger. I think he’ll win another major,” Harrington said. “I genuinely think he will be in contention.”
The 51-year-old Irishman liked what he saw from Woods in The Match exhibition even though Woods didn’t win a hole.
“You never doubt Tiger’s mental ability,” Harrington said. “He looked better physically at that match… he might be in a better place than I had thought.”
Only two golfers as old as Woods is now have ever won major titles — Julius Boros at the 1968 PGA Championship at age 48 and Phil Mickelson at age 50 in last year’s PGA Championship.
