Tiger Woods has committed to playing in next week’s PNC Championship with his son, Charlie, at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club in Orlando, Florida.
During a booth appearance at his Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas last weekend, Woods said, “We’ll see,” when asked if the father-son duo would be teeing it up in the final Silly Season event of the year.
Due to another surgery, Woods wasn’t in the field at Albany, and this will be the first time we’ll see the 15-time major champion on the course since a missed cut at the British Open in July.
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.”
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.”
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, 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.
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.”
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.
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)
“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.”
“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.
“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.”
ORLANDO — Will McGee rated his debut at the PNC Championship last year with mom Annika Sorenstam a 10 out of 10. It’s hard to go up from there, but the 12-year-old, a fan favorite at last year’s event, already has quite the highlight reel at the Ritz Carlton Golf Club. First came the ace during a practice round after school alongside his father, Mike McGee, on the fourth hole. Will hit a 7-iron into the wind from 128 yards.
Then, on Saturday during the PNC’s opening round, Will drained a 40-foot eagle putt on the par-5 third hole.
“At the start it was downhill,” said Will, “and then like towards the middle you could see it was going to break right. Right as I it had it, I thought it was a couple feet short and my mom was like, get some legs, get some legs. And it kept on slowly going and eventually it dropped, and it felt nice.”
Team Annika holds a share of seventh in the scramble format after carding a 10-under 62. They trail leaders Matt Kuchar and Cameron Kuchar by eight strokes. Tiger Woods and his son Charlie opened with a 64.
Sorenstam, a 72-time winner on the LPGA, including 10 majors, is the only mother playing in the field. 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.
“Last year we just didn’t really know what to expect,” said Sorenstam of their debut, “and I thought we did quite well last year, and then so now this year, the expectations rise for someone, so therefore, we were a little nervous just for that reason.”
Will McGee son of Annika Sorenstam of Sweden tosses a ball 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)
When asked how many aces he now has, Will said it’s up for debate. He doesn’t count the one he made last year at Pinehurst Resort’s par-3 course, The Cradle, while mom was competing in the U.S. Women’s Open.
However, he has a new caddie at Ritz-Carlton Golf Club, and one he’s plenty familiar with. His 16-year-old daughter, Sam.
Sam has been in the public eye with dad before, introducing Woods at his induction into the World Golf Hall of Fame. But this is the first time she has been on the bag, meaning a family affair on a rainy Saturday in central Florida.
“Sam was fantastic,” Tiger said. “This is the first time she’s ever done this, so it couldn’t have been any more special for all of us.
“For me to have both my kids inside the ropes like this and participating and playing and being part of the game of golf like this, it couldn’t have been more special for me, and I know that we do this a lot at home, needle each other and have a great time. But it was more special to do it in a tournament like this.”
Tiger Woods of the United States rides in a golf cart with daughter Sam Woods on the on the ninth hole 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)
Tiger is indeed still searching for a full-time caddie, as former bag man Joe LaCava is now looping for Patrick Cantlay. Two weeks ago at the Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas, longtime friend and business partner Rob McNamara caddied for Woods.
LaCava’s son, Joe Jr., has been on the bag for Charlie the past three years. This year, it’s his high school teammate Luke Wise. The duo won a team state title last month for Benjamin.
Team Woods finished at 8-under 64 after the first round, seven shots behind Team Kuchar.
Meanwhile, how is Tiger as a caddie for Charlie in his junior events? He poked some fun at dad.
“For Dad as a caddie, his reads are hook-bias, and I don’t hook as much as he does,” Charlie said. “So all of my putts, I miss right. So I have to account for that.”
The first round of the 2023 PNC Championship got underway Saturday in a rainy Orlando at Ritz-Carlton Golf Club. Twenty teams of former major champions paired with a family member got underway in the friendly hit-and-giggle to end the year.
However, plenty of eyes were focused on Team Woods, and there was no shortage of excitement from the duo early and often.
Walking in putts, waving goodbye to drives and racking up the birdies trying to keep up with Team Kuchar, which was the team setting the mark early.
“I can’t quite give him as much grief anymore because he’s close to beating me up.” JT on Charlie Woods.
ORLANDO – Tiger Woods, the father, isn’t that different from you or me. The 15-time major champ and father of two doesn’t like when son, Charlie, stares at his phone all the time.
“Put your phone away and just look around. That’s one of the things that I think all parents struggle with is most kids don’t look up anymore. Everyone is looking down,” he said when asked to name a pet peeve or something Charlie does that gets under his skin. “Look around you, the world is so beautiful around you, just look up. But everyone is staring into a screen, and that’s how people view life. It drives me nuts at times because he’s always looking down and there’s so many things around you that are so beautiful at the same time.”
“You can see how much he’s grown from last year. It’s amazing how much he has grown, has changed, and it’s a moving target with him, right? He’s grown somewhere near four inches this year, so his swing has changed, it’s evolved, clubs have evolved,” Tiger said. “And we kept trying to adjust things, and it’s been a lot of fun. But it’s also challenging for him because each and every couple weeks, things change. He just has – he’s growing so fast.”
“He’s leading the tournament in inches grown,” Justin Thomas said. “I can’t quite give him as much grief anymore because he’s close to beating me up.”
Tiger noted that Charlie is hitting it past him now, and just to keep things fair in this 36-hole competition, he’s playing one set back this year at a length of 6,576 yards.
Imagine trying to grow up as the son of one of, if not, the best ever to play a sport. And yet Charlie has fallen hard for golf and seems to be able to handle all of the inevitable comparisons. Imagine being able to learn the game from Tiger. Well, Charlie still has some mixed feelings about that. When Will McGee, the 12-year-old son of Annika Sorenstam, asked him if he listens to his dad’s tips, Charlie said, “It doesn’t happen very often. I mean, when I get desperate, yeah.
Charlie Woods warms up as father Tiger Woods of the United States looks on during the pro-am prior to the PNC Championship at The Ritz-Carlton Golf Club on December 15, 2023, in Orlando, Florida. (Photo by Mike Mulholland/Getty Images)
“Sometimes he doesn’t see it the way I saw it, which is fun, but I think it’s the understanding of how to hit the proper shot at the proper time. And that’s what all kids have to learn is when do I hit a certain shot at the right time, or how do I take stuff off a shot, how do I hit it a little bit harder, what do I need to do.
“You can do that at home all you want, but under tournament conditions, it’s just so different. And being able to share that with him, share my experiences with him in game-time mode, I think that it was great for both of us because I think we both are able to learn from it and grow from it. I think I learned to be a better teacher with it, and I think that he became a better player because of it.”
Imagine there being a blessing in disguise from Tiger’s accident. His injuries have prevented him from practicing as much as he’d like with Charlie but on the bright side he said he has been home more and able to watch Charlie’s high school matches and caddie for him at junior tournaments, which he might not otherwise have been able to do. This week is special for Team Woods to test their games together under tournament conditions.
“We push each other, which is great,” Tiger said. “And the needle is always out. If you’re going to be able to mouth off and give the jabs, then you have to be able to take it. That’s been a lot of fun for both of us.”
Imagine being able to get a wedge lesson from the legend Lee Trevino. After the pro-am, Charlie hit the range and when Tiger joined him, they made sure to visit with Trevino, who was digging it out of the dirt at age 84 at the far end of the range. They hugged, laughed, and traded stories and tips.
Imagine if Tiger and Charlie were to win the PNC Championship this week. JT has and he took a guess where it would rank for Tiger. “It would be No. 1 for special,” he said.
“Winning majors is unbelievable, and how he’s won his majors, but seeing how much he cares about Charlie and having Sam out here and him doing that together with Charlie and as he’s watched him grow up, it would be a very, very different kind of win that doesn’t maybe come with the record books and history and whatnot,” Thomas added. “I know it would suck for us because they would really rub that in our face.”
