Although he confirmed before the start of the Hero World Challenge that he would not be on golf courses for a long time, Tiger Woods gathered his strength and decided to appear at the PNC Championship, together with his 15-year-old son Charlie. The 48-year-old golfer was aware that a tournament like PNC is not very important, so he decided to appear on golf courses and make golf fans happy.
Of course, it was hard to expect to see a real version of Tiger, given that he has not played many tournaments for years, and he came back from back surgery in September. The king of golf revealed before the Hero World Challenge that he is not completely ready; he does not want to compete with the best golfers in the world, who are currently far ahead of him.
“I’m not tournament sharp yet. I’m still not there,” Woods said.
“These are 20 of the best players in the world, and I’m not sharp enough to compete against them at this level. So when I’m ready to compete and play at this level, then I will.”
It is not easy for a sports icon not to be in competitive shape, but it seems that Woods has already gotten used to such a role. His focus now seems to be more on his son Charlie than on him. His 15-year-old son impressed the fans, especially with the hole-in-one, and the expectations from him are now even higher after his impressive performance. Although they did not manage to win, they left positive impressions. Bernhard Langer and his son Jason eventually won.
“That was the thrill of a lifetime to be able to have that moment with Charlie, make his first hole-in-one, [daughter] Sam on the bag, just our family and friends. That’s what this event is about. It’s about bonding and family,” Woods said.
“I know we didn’t win, but it was the fact that we competed. No one really made a mistake out there. We had to earn it, and that’s what you want to have. Hats off to Langers. They played amazing.”
Charlie Woods and Tiger Woods© PGATUOR / X / Fair Use
When we look back at the injuries that followed him in his career, we could write a book about it. The experienced golfer had problems with injuries for years, and in the moments when it seemed that he had recovered and was in competitive shape, a new injury or renewal of an old one would quickly occur again. For a golfer of his caliber who always strives to win tournaments, it was disappointing.
However, Tiger seems to be getting used to such a role. Back in 2017, after his return, Tiger emphasized the psychological struggles during his recovery, stressing that without the support of those closest to him, he would hardly have achieved great success. The PGA Tour veteran often thought about the people who were his greatest support on the road to recovery. Many are wondering: Does Tiger still have such support, and who plays the key role? Is that his son Charlie?
“I was very thankful this morning,” he said. “I was in my head thanking all the people who have helped me in giving me a chance to come back and play this round again.
There were a lot of people that were instrumental in my life; friends, outside people I’ve never met before, and obviously my surgeon.”
Golf fans remember his return in 2023 when Tiger caused a general surprise on the golf scene. The experienced golfer then admitted that he could not play many tournaments, at most one a month. It turned out that this was the case. Tiger did not play for a long time, considering that he was greeted by a new injury.
You can imagine how difficult that moment was for him.
Woods, on the other hand, realized that there was nothing to be gained from negative thoughts and frustration, and he put the accent on the return.
However, what mark did all this leave on his psyche? Huge! It is hard to expect that a golfer whose career is filled with injuries and a golfer who could soon retire from regular PGA Tour tournaments can really resemble the former golfer.
“I think that best scenario would be maybe a tournament a month,” he said. “I think that’s realistic. You would have to start with maybe at Genesis and something in March near The Players. Again, we have [the schedule] set up right now so the biggest events are one per month. It sets itself up for that.”
Regardless of whether he can be as superior as before, the fans want and wait for his return as soon as possible.
Tennis World USA