Let’s slow the roll on Charlie Woods; golf’s history has not been overly kind to the sons of greats

If you know golf history, Charlie will most likely win as many major championships as your ol’ man.

Will Charlie Woods be the next Tiger Woods? Dare we ask if he’ll ever win as many major championships as dear ol’ dad?

Charlie hits it a mile and employs an athletic and fundamentally sound swing, as well as many of his father’s on-course mannerisms.

But if you know golf and know its history, well, let’s just say Charlie will most likely win as many major championships as your ol’ man.

Maybe that’s a bit harsh. It’s not like second-generation golfers haven’t succeeded at the highest levels. Come on, it was just 130-some years ago that Willie Park Jr. won his second British Open and ran the combined total for father and son to six.

That was just 15 years after another second-generation champ, Young Tom Morris, won his fourth.

So, yes, we’re saying there’s a chance.

Charlie Woods has drawn plenty of praise for his golf game over the past few years, most recently at the annual silly season tournament, the PNC Championship in Orlando, where he and his dad tied for fifth in a field of 20 teams.

This came a month after Charlie’s high school team won the Class 1A state championship. Charlie tied for 19th individually with rounds of 78-76.

At 14, he’s a quality high school golfer. But at this stage there’s no way to know if that’ll eventually translate to a professional career in golf or, say, professional life as a lawyer or banker with a single-digit handicap and occasional use of the “Reserved for Club Champion” parking spot down at the club.

Jack Nicklaus is the standard by which Tiger Woods has long been measured. Of Jack’s four sons and one daughter, Gary was the best golfer. When he was just 16 and playing for the same school Charlie Woods now attends, Sports Illustrated put him on the cover with the headline, “The Next Nicklaus.”

Not quite. Gary did reach the PGA Tour and stayed a few years, which is no small feat, but the closest he came to becoming the “Next Nicklaus” was a playoff loss to Phil Mickelson at the 2000 BellSouth Classic.

Just ten father-son combos have won PGA Tour tournaments: Julius and Guy Boros, Al and Brent Geiberger, Craig and Kevin Stadler, Bob and Kevin Tway, Joe Kirkwood Sr. and Jr., Jack Burke Sr. and Jr., Clayton and Vance Heafner, Jay and Bill Haas, Old Tom Morris and Young Tom Morris and Willie Park and Willie Park, Jr.

The number of second-generation tournament winners seems a bit low when you consider how many second- and even third-generation stars you see in other sports. One reason seems rather obvious. In team sports, where you get a Ken Griffey Jr. or a Christian McCaffrey, the son of a former pro, especially a former star, is likely to get more consideration and more reps at an early age, and therefore more opportunities to succeed.

Yes, genetics also help.

But in golf and the other individual sports, results tell the story. It doesn’t matter how much cachet your name carries. Sure, the name will help a fledgling pro get a sponsor invite into a tournament field here and there, and one of those opportunities might trigger a breakthrough. But most likely, if the professional quality is there, you’re not leaning on sponsor invites very long.

Charlie Woods is obviously set up to go as far as his talent and desire allow — the best equipment, access to the best practice facilities and courses, and a pretty fair instructor across the dinner table.

That instructor defied a lot of odds along the way and did many things never considered likely, and some things never thought possible. Odds and history, however, also pack a formidable punch.

The Tiger Woods ‘big dog’ meme has officially gone viral — here are favorites

We’ve seen some excellent Tiger Woods memes over the years, but this one might be one of our favorites.

We’ve seen some excellent Tiger Woods memes over the years, but this one might be one of our favorites (and yes, it’s probably recency bias but whatever).

During the 2023 PNC Championship, in which he played with his son Charlie and had his daughter Sam caddie, PGA Tour video showed Tiger greeting another caddie with a high-five handshake combo and two words: “Big dog.”

He followed it with “Let’s go to work,” but the screenshot of that moment is now everywhere on X (formerly Twitter) and TikTok.

So let’s take a look at the funniest versions of it that we’ve seen:

Christmas comes early for the kids at PNC Championship who call it the best week of the year

The PNC Championship is the highlight of golf’s silly season and the annual hit-and-giggle delivered again in 2023.

ORLANDO — With Paddy Harrington in the midst of college exams back home in Ireland, Ciaran Harrington took his older brother’s place at the 2023 PNC Championship. Six weeks removed from breaking his left leg playing high school rugby, 15-year-old Ciaran joined his father Padraig – in his first competitive round – at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club in front of thousands of fans on live television. Ciaran found that he hit his best shots in front of packed grandstands, when he could feel his stomach in his throat.

“You know, it was always going to be a bit of a push to get him ready for this,” said Padraig, “and then when he broke his leg, it was like he’s had 10 days of a crash course in how to play golf. And he’s done brilliant.”

Padraig Harrington pictured with his son Ciaran at the PNC Championship at The Ritz-Carlton Golf Club on December 14, 2023 in Orlando, Florida. (Photo by David Cannon/Getty Images)

This year’s PNC field featured 11 former world No. 1s, nine World Golf Hall of Fame members and eight Ryder Cup captains. The field of 20 teams – one of the most sought-after invitations in golf – combined for 62 major championship titles.

Lee Trevino, 84, has teed it up in all 26 editions of the event, while 12-year-old Will McGee, the youngest in the field, made his second appearance with mom Annika Sorenstam. McGee cried down most of the 18th hole just thinking about the fact that he’d have to wait a whole year to do this again.

There’s so much to enjoy about the PNC. Pros smile more this week inside the ropes than they do all year. It’s a chance to talk about something other than the weekly grind. In fact, it’s often a pro’s favorite subject: family.

There were seven teenagers in this year’s field, plus 12-year-old Will. Tiger Woods’ son Charlie, of course, generated the most buzz for a fourth consecutive year, but there were plenty of worthy storylines in rain-soaked central Florida.

Cameron Kuchar, 16, has been holding a golf club since he was in diapers and one day dreams of winning the Masters. He plays on the South Florida PGA Junior Medalist Tour with Charlie and Justin Leonard’s son, Luke, who was also in the field.

Steve Stricker, 56, was invited to the PNC for the first time after a rule change was made to allow PGA Tour Champions major winners. He partnered with youngest daughter Izzi, 17, who will follow in the footsteps of her mother Nicki and sister Bobbi on the golf team at Wisconsin beginning in the fall of 2024. Izzi is a two-time state champion and the 2023 Golf Coaches Association of Wisconsin State Co-Player of the Year.

Last May, Izzi was inside the ropes with her father when she debuted as his caddie at the KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship, where Steve beat Padraig Harrington in a playoff.

The PNC offered a new twist in that the Strickers strategized together over shots that she’d hit as well.

The Strickers played alongside world No. 1 Nelly Korda on Saturday and Team Woods on Sunday, and Izzi called it the coolest week of her life. When asked if she chatted much with Charlie on Sunday, Izzi said briefly.

“We were both really dialed,” she said. “Not much came out of our mouths.”

The Stricker clan is close and highly competitive. When questioned if his daughters had ever bested him on the golf course, Steve said maybe in a three-hole stretch.

“But if it’s 18 holes,” he continued, “I can honestly say I don’t think either one of them – because I start to grind if it gets close. Then I start talking to them and getting in their ear and trying to throw them off a little bit if that’s going to happen.”

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Like Ciaran, golf isn’t even Tanner Furyk’s main sport. The 19-year-old son of Jim Furyk plays lacrosse at The University of the South, where he’s majoring in economics.

To be invited to the PNC, a member of each team must have won at least one major (PGA Tour, LPGA or PGA Tour Champions) or the Players Championship, while the partner must not hold any playing status on a professional tour.

Brady Duval watches his tee shot on the first hole with his father David Duval during the first round of the PNC Championship at The Ritz-Carlton Golf Club on December 16, 2023 in Orlando, Florida. (Photo by David Cannon/Getty Images)

David Duval and his son, Brady, finished runner-up to the Langers this year. It marked a record-tying fifth time that Berhard Langer has won the PNC with one of his sons. Brady calls the PNC by far the best week of the year.

David teaches Brady, a freshman on the golf team at Coastal Carolina, to swing the same way he has all his life.

“It’s all our teacher (Shan LeBaron) now teaches him now, too, and there’s a reason for it,” said David. “Because it makes it easier. You don’t have to pound balls all the time. You don’t have to work on timing. Somebody told him last year – slow down a little bit. The way I tell him to swing a club, if you’re doing it right, speed up. It’s only going to go straighter and further.”

Early in the week at PNC, David asked longtime friend Peter Jacobsen to come over and explain a move he’d been trying to get across to Brady. In less than 10 minutes, Brady understood.

“Because we’re saying the same thing,” said David, “but you sometimes have to say it in six or seven ways until the person, the individual, understands it.”

Ciaran doesn’t consider himself a golfer, but he left Orlando certainly hungry to get better. With Paddy still in college next December, Ciaran will likely get the nod again from dad and wants to be ready.

For years, Will McGee asked his mother if he could play with her in the PNC. But Sorenstam and her husband, Mike, wanted to be sure that Will was ready for this kind of spotlight. They wanted to make sure that the emphasis was on fun.

Will is undeniably addicted to golf, but certainly not because he was pushed into it. If anything, Sorenstam has worried that Will might get burned out because he rarely shows an interest in much else.

That’s certainly the recipe Padraig Harrington prescribes for those interested in getting their children involved in the game.

“Just let the kids just have a bit of fun and just no pressure, no stress,” said Harrington. “They’ve loads of time, you know, you don’t need to be good at this game at six years of age, or eight years of age or even 12 years of age. It could be even a burden to be good at that age. So, you know, let them enjoy.”

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Annika Sorenstam’s son Will McGee once again steals show on Sunday at PNC Championship

On the 18th fairway Sunday, the 12-year-old said: “I don’t want this moment to end.”

ORLANDO — While Tiger Woods and son Charlie dominate many of the headlines at the PNC Championship, Will McGee once again won plenty of hearts. Walking down the 18th fairway on Sunday, the 12-year-old turned to his mother, Annika Sorenstam, and said,  “Slow down, Mommy, I don’t want this moment to end.”

No one loves the PNC more than young McGee, who doffed his cap for the crowd around the 18th green after hitting a beautiful bunker shot. He’d caught it thin out of another bunker on the last hole during Saturday’s round and wanted revenge.

McGee shed many tears on that final hole. When asked why he felt so emotional, McGee said, “Probably because I have to wait a year to do this again.”

McGee and his Hall of Fame mom shot 67 in the scramble format to finish in a share of 11th in the 20-team event. The duo will split $43,750 from the prize fund.

After beginning the week with an ace during a practice round at Ritz-Carlton Golf Club with his father, McGee then drained a lengthy eagle putt during Saturday’s first round.

2023 PNC Championship
Annika Sorenstam of Sweden poses for a photograph with her son Will McGee on the first tee during the final round of the 2023 PNC Championship at The Ritz-Carlton Golf Club in Orlando. (Photo: David Cannon/Getty Images)

A bona fide golf lover, McGee was stoked to talk to Tiger Woods several times, noting that he was “super nice.” Justin Thomas even offered a tip on playing in windy conditions. It gusted over 30 mph during Sunday’s final round.

“He keeps telling me I need to weigh more,” said McGee, the youngest player in the field. “So he put some golf balls in my pocket so I don’t fly away.”

The game doesn’t get more wholesome than that.

Five things from the PNC Championship, including Charlie Woods’ electric chip-in and Izzi Stricker’s dream week

Here are five takeaways from a soggy but festive Sunday at Ritz-Carlton Golf Club.

ORLANDO — Bernhard Langer and his son Jason entered the final round of the PNC Championship trailing by three strokes and wound up winning by two after a final-round 59.

“That’s just steamrolling people,” said runner-up David Duval.

The Langers finished at 25 under in the two-person scramble. For Bernhard, it’s his fifth title at the PNC – twice with his eldest son Stefan (2005 and 2006) and now three times with his youngest son, Jason (2014, 2019, 2023).

“Very special,” said Bernhard, who has competed in the PNC with all four of his children. “It’s always special whether you win or not, just being here is like the Olympics. They only take 20 teams and there’s probably 25 on the waiting list that would love to be here.”

2023 PNC Championship
Bernhard Langer and son, Jason Langer, celebrate winning the PNC Championship at The Ritz-Carlton Golf Club on Dec. 17, 2023 in Orlando. (Photo by Mike Mulholland/Getty Images)

Rain and wind that gusted more than 30 mph couldn’t the dampen the spirits of teams at the family-focused event. And with Tiger Woods and son Charlie back for a fourth consecutive year, plenty of fans braved the weather to catch a glimpse.

Here are five takeaways from a soggy but festive Sunday at Ritz-Carlton Golf Club:

2023 PNC Championship prize money payouts for each team in Orlando

It pays to play well, even in silly season events.

It pays to play well, even in golf’s silly season events. Just ask this weekend’s winners, Bernhard and Jason Langer.

The father-son duo won the 2023 PNC Championship on Sunday at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club in Orlando by two shots over David Duval and his son, Brady. The win is the fifth for Langer at the annual family event, tying Raymond Floyd with the most wins.

For their efforts, Team Langer will take home the top prize of $200,000, while the Duvals earned $80,000. Check out how much money each team earned this weekend at the 2023 PNC Championship at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club in Orlando.

2023 PNC Championship prize money payouts

Position Team Score Earnings
1 Team Langer -25 $200,000
2 Team Duval -23 $80,000
3 Team Singh -22 $57,250
4 Team Goosen -21 $50,000
T-5 Team Lehman -19 $47,000
T-5 Team Cink -19 $47,000
T-5 Team Daly -19 $47,000
T-5 Team Woods -19 $47,000
T-5 Team Kuchar -19 $47,000
10 Team Stricker -16 $44,500
T-11 Team Annika -15 $43,750
T-11 Team O’Meara -15 $43,750
T-13 Team Thomas -14 $42,750
T-13 Team Korda -14 $42,750
15 Team Leonard -13 $42,000
16 Team Price -12 $41,500
17 Team Faldo -11 $41,000
18 Team Trevino -9 $40,500
T-19 Team Harrington -7 $40,250
T-19 Team Furyk -7 $40,250

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Bernhard Langer, son Jason make history with 2023 PNC Championship win

Langer is the second five-time winner of the annual family event.

For more than 20 years Raymond Floyd was the only five-time winner of the annual PNC Championship. That all changed on Sunday.

Bernhard Langer and his son, Jason, ran away with the 2023 family hit-and-giggle at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club in Orlando after a white-hot day on the putting green. The father-son duo made birdie on their first seven holes of the day and shot an impressive 13-under 59 during Sunday’s final round to take the trophy at 25 under.

“Just it’s always special whether you win or not, just being here is like the Olympics. They only take 20 teams and there’s probably 25 on the waiting list that would love to be here,” Bernhard said after the round. “It’s always a wonderful thing to get an invitation to come and play here, and as you all know, I’ve got four kids, played with all four of them, and we have a lot of wonderful memories.

Floyd and Langer are now the only five-time winners of the event. Larry Nelson has three wins and Davis Love III has two. Langer won with his son, Stefan, in 2005 and 2006, and won with Jason in 2014, 2019 and now 2023. He also previously played with his daughter, Christina, in 2013 and 2016.

“It was a ton of fun. I said it earlier, but I don’t get to play as much golf anymore, and I don’t get to see my parents and my family quite as much anymore,” Jason added. “To be able to play golf as a family and in a beautiful spot and great competition and play a really good golf course, it’s amazing.”

David Duval and his son, Brady, finished second at 23 under, while defending champions Vijay and Qass Singh finished third at 22 under.

“This is by far the best week of the year, this is the week that you’re just hoping for that invite every single year,” said Brady. “I’m very thankful to have the invite and I’m thankful for everybody here. It was an absolute blast out there. If we got it a little closer on a few holes and gave ourselves a couple better chances, we would have had a pretty good chance at winning this year.

“It’s the best golfing week of the year,” David echoed. “You’re on pins and needles come — once August kind of rolls around, hoping to see that e-mail from Alastair with the invite. I think certainly with the majority of folks who play at our age, it’s the most coveted invite in golf, as well, and I think as you could argue, it’s the hardest field to get into.

“To be asked to come back and participate, it’s a dream come true every year it happens.”

Tiger and Charlie Woods finished T-5 at 19 under. Justin Thomas and his father, Mike, who won the event in 2020, finished T-13 at 14 under.

Team Langer earned $200,000 for the victory.

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2023 PNC Championship final round highlights from Orlando

Tiger and Charlie Woods, Will McGee and Annika Sorenstam stole the show on Sunday.

Golf’s silly season came to a close on Sunday as the annual family hit-and-giggle in Orlando wrapped play.

The 2023 PNC Championship, an unofficial event that features major champions and winners of the Players Championship paired with a family member for 36 holes, saw history made on Sunday. First-round leaders Matt Kuchar and his son, Cameron, were looking for their first win and sat three shots clear of four teams tied for second. One of those teams were the defending champions, Vijay and Qass Singh. Another were the eventual winners, Bernhard Langer and his son, Jason. With the victory, Langer tied Raymond Floyd for the most wins all-time in the event with five.

From Tiger and Charlie Woods to a wholesome moment with Annika Sorenstam and her son, Will McGee, check out the highlights from the final round of the 2023 PNC Championship.

Matt Kuchar and son Cameron lead by 3 at soggy PNC Championship

The Kuchars played the first 12 holes in 11 under.

ORLANDO — The Kuchar family has a picture of son Cameron on the back of a driving range in Las Vegas wearing diapers and appearing to give his father Matt a lesson. As Cameron grew, so too did his love of the game, to the point that the 16-year-old now dreams of one day playing on the PGA Tour and winning the Masters.

Team Kuchar warmed up for this year’s PNC Championship at their home course in Jupiter, Florida, The Bear’s Club, by training with fellow father-son teams Justin and Mike Thomas and Justin and Luke Leonard.

The pair made it look easy on a rainy day at the Ritz Carlton Golf Club, where the Kuchars fired a 15-under 57 in the scramble format, one shot off the tournament record. They hold a three-shot lead over four teams at 12 under.

The Kuchars played the first 12 holes in 11 under.

“I think back to when I was 16 years old,” said Matt, a nine-time winner on the PGA Tour. “It’s just leaps and bounds ahead of where I was, just as a quality golfer. Feels like day-in and day-out, he’s going to play some pretty good golf, and he’s got a great network of friends that now he goes and practices, plays with and plays tournaments with. He sees Charlie Woods down there a lot, a bunch of other guys down in Jupiter.”

Photos: 2023 PNC Championship

Matt’s father, Peter, agrees, noting that Matt’s game really took off around age 15, yet Cameron is already so much farther ahead. That’s largely because of Matt.

“I was a tennis player,” said Peter. “Matt just learned it all on his own. He didn’t learn anything from me.”

Matt’s son Carson, who played last year in this event, is a nationally ranked junior player and the reason the family moved down to south Florida. Though the move has certainly helped Cameron, too, who notes that the two-minute cart ride from their house to the driving range is a big improvement, and there’s always a game to be had.

Cameron plays most of his tournament golf on the South Florida PGA Junior Medalist Tour along with Charlie Woods and Luke Leonard.

2023 PNC Championship
Tiger Woods of the United States embraces son Charlie Woods on the 18th green during the first round of the PNC Championship at The Ritz-Carlton Golf Club on December 16, 2023 in Orlando, Florida. (Photo by Mike Mulholland/Getty Images)

Team Woods opened the PNC with a 64.

“I drove the ball really good today,” said Charlie, “didn’t miss a fairway, and still managed to shoot 8 under. We just suck at putting.”

Added Tiger: “That sums it up right there.”

Bernhard Langer is a four-time winner of the PNC, twice with his youngest son Jason (2014 and 2019) and twice with his oldest, Stefan (2005 and 2006). Jason, 26, is a former collegiate player at Penn who now works in finance in New York City. He’s making his sixth appearance at the PNC with dad this week. They’re currently in a share of second with the Singhs, Goosens and Duvals.

“I saw Jason played incredibly well for somebody who doesn’t play much golf anymore,” said Langer. “Hit a lot of quality shots.”

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As Steve Stricker grinded to hit it past Nelly Korda at PNC Championship, daughter Izzi Stricker took notes

“She has got one of the best swings in the game of golf,” Steve Stricker said of Nelly Korda.

ORLANDO — Izzi Stricker said she felt numb on the first hole of the PNC Championship, though she did pipe her drive down the middle. Partnering with her father Steve in their first PNC, oddsmakers had the Strickers as a favorite to win this week, enjoying the same odds as Tiger Woods and his son Charlie and Justin Thomas and his father Mike.

Izzi, a two-time Wisconsin girls state champion, has committed to play college golf at Wisconsin, where she’ll be a freshman in the fall of 2024. Both her mother, Nicki, and sister, Bobbi, played golf at Wisconsin.

Izzi Stricker daughter of Steve Stricker of the United States embraces her mother Nikki Stricker as sister Bobbi Stricker looks on from the 18th green during the first round of the PNC Championship at The Ritz-Carlton Golf Club on December 16, 2023 in Orlando, Florida. (Photo by Mike Mulholland/Getty Images)

A 12-time winner on the PGA Tour, Steve won six times this season on the PGA Tour Champions, including three majors.

In Saturday’s opening round of the PNC, the Strickers were paired alongside former No. 1 Nelly Korda and her father Petr. Izzi was hoping she’d get the chance to play alongside Korda, a major champion and Olympic gold medalist.

Steve noted he often pulls up videos of Nelly’s swing when working with his daughters.

Photos: 2023 PNC Championship

“I mean, she has got one of the best swings in the game of golf,” said Stricker. “You know, men or women.”

The Strickers opened with an 8-under 64 in the scramble format, tied with the Kordas, and trail Matt Kuchar and his teenage son Cameron by seven.

Steve, 56, who was invited into the field after a rule change was made to allow PGA Tour Champions major winners, said he was grinding to make sure he could hit it past Nelly on a waterlogged day at Ritz-Carlton Golf Club. Four sets of tees are in place this week. Steve and Nelly are both playing from 6,578 yards. Izzi and Petr are playing from 6,036 yards.

“I was grinding to make sure that I could hit it past her on a few holes,” said Steve with a smile. “She got me once and she let me know it, too. So from that point on, I swung a little bit harder to make sure I could get it past her, but she’s got some length.”