Tucked in the middle of the PGA Tour’s Silly Season is a family tradition featuring a first-rate field. Among the 20 teams playing this weekend’s PNC Father/Son Challenge field, 12 teams include a World Golf Hall of Famer.
After the first round at The Ritz-Carlton Golf Club in Orlando, Florida, two-time U.S. Open champion Retief Goosen and his son Leo are at the top of the leaderboard. The back half of the Goosen scorecard was almost completely covered in red, which played a big role in the team’s rise to the top. The Goosens birdied their final eight holes of the day for a 14-under 58.
PNC Father/Son Challenge: Leaderboard
That was one shot better than Bernhard Langer and his son Jason Donald or David Duval and his son Brady could do in the opening round.
Asked to explain those birdies after the round on Golf Channel, Leo Goosen hesitated. His dad pointed a finger at the 16-year-old and offered a simple response.
“His putting.”
Turns out, Leo put a new putter in the bag for Saturday’s round after trying it out the night before. Retief hopes “he’ll hang on to this one for more than a week.” Leo did hole a 40-footer for par on No. 2 with the new flatstick.
Leo has played golf since he could walk, according to his dad, but his game has come a long way in the last six months, to the tune of 20 additional yards off the tee.
“I’d say that we just had each other’s backs,” Leo said. “I’d take one hole and then he’d take the next one, or I’d hit a good drive, he’d hit a good second.”
Behind the Duvals and the Langers at 12 under, Tom Lehman and his son Thomas combined for an 11-under 61 that was good for fourth. Jim Furyk and his father Mike had a 62 and landed in fifth.
Annika Sorenstam is playing the event for the first time, and as the first female professional to appear in what has been a male-dominated event. She and her father Tom had a 6-under 66.
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