ORLANDO — Tiger Woods and his son Charlie stepped to the mics in the flash area at the PNC Championship and reflexively crossed their arms over their chests. Like so many times on Saturday afternoon, they mirrored each other perfectly.
This marked the first time Charlie, 13, had met with the press in a formal setting, and he handled it with ease, downplaying the ankle injury that had him limping around the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club, often looking worse off than his dad.
“Hey, he got a cart,” said Tiger, smiling, “so it was all right.”
The good-natured jabbing is endless between the Woods and Thomas crew. Tiger noted that the ribbing started on Saturday before they even arrived at the golf course. Team Ice Bath, as the Woods’ are aptly called, trail Justin Thomas and his father Mike by two strokes heading into the final round.
The Thomas’ pace the field at 15 under in the two-person scramble format. Team Woods holds a share of second with Vijay Singh and his son Qass.
The Thomas’ won this event in 2020 and didn’t let their friends forget it.
“They rubbed it in our face over Christmas dinner,” said Woods. “They are in a great position to possibly do it again on Christmas dinner, but we are going to have a little something to say about that.”
Charlie injured his ankle while working on the range earlier in the week at the PNC, and as he warmed up for the first round, he tried a different shoe on his left foot but ultimately switched back. On several tee shots early in the round, the pain was so bad Charlie doubled-over, grabbing his left ankle. On the par-5 fifth, he fell to the ground after hitting his tee shot, leaving many to wonder how much longer they might play.
Team Woods carried on, however, as they do, and Tiger chipped in for eagle on the fifth to really invigorate the pair. They played an eight-hole stretch in the middle of the round in 9 under.
Tiger chips in for eagle on the 5th! Crowd goes wild. Making memories. 👊🏻 pic.twitter.com/CcfsIdR53c
— Beth Ann Nichols (@GolfweekNichols) December 17, 2022
This is the third appearance in the PNC for Tiger and Charlie. After finishing seventh in their debut, last year Team Woods made 11 consecutive birdies in the final round to shoot 57 and finish runner-up behind John Daly and his son.
“We had a blast slaying it today,” said Tiger.
Tiger’s longtime caddie Joe LaCava is on the bag this week and his son, Joey, is caddying for Charlie. Justin’s mom is caddying for Mike and Jim “Bones” Mackay is working for Justin.
Charlie described the atmosphere of the players and caddies in Saturday’s group as “a big family.” His sister Sam was also in the gallery supporting.
Shortly after Tiger and Charlie stepped off the first tee, they stopped in front of a Golf Channel camera to send a congratulatory message to Charlie’s mom and Tiger’s ex-wife, Elin, who had given birth earlier in the week.
Family is top of mind for everyone in the field this week, and the Woods and Thomas crew will be paired together again for the final round, teeing off at 11:05 a.m. ET.
“You guys are now seeing what we do all the time at home,” said Tiger. We just have fun. We needle each other. We encourage each other. It goes back and forth.
“It’s just an amazing relationship, and it just deepens the bond between father and son. It’s been incredible over the years to be able to share this stage and this atmosphere with him.”
