The PNC Championship allows a quick glimpse at what could be the next generation of golf’s biggest stars. That’s because they’ve come from current and past generations of golf’s biggest stars.
The event allows pros to tee up with their children, adding a special wrinkle to the off-season event. No one generates more excitement — or more eyeballs — than one of the greatest golfers in history. Tiger Woods is playing this week, alongside 15-year-old son Charlie.
On Sunday, Charlie showcased the mechanics and awareness that made his dad a 15-time major winner. His hole-in-one on the par three fourth helped Team Woods tie Team Singh and Team Langer atop the leaderboard at -18.
Surprise washed over the younger Woods’s face as he learned what he assumed was merely a good shot was, in fact, the best shot he could have made. Tiger made no effort to hide his joy, pulling his teenager in for a chest-thumping hug to celebrate the first ace of his golf career. Then, with a loud “yeah!” he excitedly shoved his son away in a bit of impromptu Elaine Benes cosplay.
via Golf Channel
Just guys being dudes, and a dad being proud of his son.
Golf legend Tiger Woods and his son, Charlie, have teamed up this week to hit the links at the PNC Championship. The event, which allows some of the biggest names in golf to pair up with members of their family, is a best-ball tournament at The Ritz-Carlton Golf Club, Orlando, Grande Lakes in Florida.
Nelly Korda, Nick Faldo, Fred Couples, Annika Sorenstam, Vijay Singh and John Daly are among the other golfers in the field.
At 15 years old, Charlie Woods is already showing some of the same prowess his father has on the course, but the duo is eerily in sync in their movements and post-putt motions.
Come for the putt, stay for Tiger and Charlie Woods perfectly in sync.
The location has two artificial turf mini-golf courses set amid tropical landscaping.
There’s a new Tiger Woods’ PopStroke set to open in West Palm Beach this month, with a new level of amenities added to the family-friendly golf and dining venue.
PopStroke takes the old concept of mini-golf and elevates it into a high-tech experience that is heavy on perks, plus food and drink.
During a preview of the West Palm Beach complex on Dec. 5, PopStroke Chief Executive Greg Bartoli showed the many details he hopes will transform the nearly $20 million site into a flagship destination for the company.
The location has two artificial turf mini-golf courses set amid tropical landscaping, outdoor lighting and misting fans.
The venue also features a children’s playground, a restaurant, six bars, and six 24-foot-by-13-foot jumbotron video screens that display leaderboards and sports games.
This PopStroke location, the second in Palm Beach County (the other is in Delray Beach), also has the most extra of touches: A 21 and older VIP lounge, featuring a swimming pool and bar.
The West Palm Beach PopStroke, at 2429 Perimeter Rd., will open to the public Dec. 20, at 10 a.m. The property, off Belvedere Road just west of Interstate 95, is on land leased from the Palm Beach International Airport.
Bartoli, who is partners with Woods in the venture, said he’s tried to create a lively atmosphere for everyone, “like a backyard party.”
PopStroke is a far cry from the mini-golf courses that once dotted many Old Florida tourist towns.
But Bartoli said the influx of companies and residents into Palm Beach County in recent years, a trend accelerated during the COVID pandemic, created the need for a centrally-located gathering spot.
“There’s no windmills, no clowns,” Bartoli said of PopStroke. “Instead, we’ve made a beautiful environment that can appeal to different guests.”
Palm Beach County “has the nicest, world-class resorts,” Bartoli added, “and we want to make this a showcase property.”
The newly-built PopStroke reflects the increasingly upscale orientation of businesses throughout Palm Beach County, whether it’s private clubs, hotels, office buildings and shopping centers.
Who can play at PopStroke?
There’s something for everyone at PopStroke, from visitors aged three to 93.
During the day, children and families can play golf or enjoy other games, such as cornhole. In addition to a family-friendly restaurant, there’s also an ice cream parlor.
At night, PopStroke’s dramatic lighting creates the scene for gatherings of friends and professionals, he said.
Meanwhile, the members-only VIP room will be its own scene, right down to the food.
The sushi served in the lounge will be flown in from Japan and prepared by chefs who previously worked at Nobu, Bartoli said.
In addition to the swimming pool and cabanas, the VIP lounge also has showers, changing rooms and lockers.
Courses are near completion during a tour of the soon-to-open PopStroke entertainment venue near Palm Beach International Airport in unincorporated Palm Beach County, Fla., on December 5, 2024. CEO Greg Bartoli says the facility is two weeks from its grand opening. (Thomas Cordy/Palm Beach Post)
‘Sand’ traps, hills and lots of extras
The West Palm Beach location PopStroke features two 18-hole mini-golf courses designed by a professional golf course designer.
The courses are intended to mimic the traits of a regular golf course. This includes plenty of sand traps made of white artificial turf, plus lots of little hills.
In addition to the putting courses, there’s also an extra “challenge” hole to play.
Key to the PopStroke experience is the blending of sports with technology. Guests must download an app to play golf at PopStroke. The app allows players to update their scores on the jumbotron leaderboards. Guests also can order drinks, which are delivered by servers to the customer’s exact spot on the (mini) greens.
PopStroke also has a two-story restaurant and amenities building.
A ground-floor restaurant will serve a traditional American menu. The space opens to a fenced-in children’s playground.
Bartoli, who has three young children, said parents can watch their children play while they finish their meals in peace.
Above the restaurant is a second-floor event space with its own bar. Bartoli said the venue can accommodate up to 100 guests for events ranging from birthday parties to corporate gatherings.
But only VIP club members can rent the upstairs VIP space, he said.
However, for an unspecified amount, he said the entire PopStroke space can be rented out.
Courses are near completion during a tour of the soon-to-open PopStroke entertainment venue near Palm Beach International Airport in unincorporated Palm Beach County, Fla., on December 5, 2024. CEO Greg Bartoli says the facility is two weeks from its grand opening. (Thomas Cordy/Palm Beach Post)
How much does it cost to play?
The restaurant is open to the public, and people do not need to buy a golf pass to eat there.
But for those wanting to play the mini-golf courses, PopStroke costs $30 per person for an all-day pass from Monday through Thursday, and $35 from Friday through Sunday.
Discounts are available for children and seniors.
PopStroke memberships are available for $30 a month and provide unlimited golf play, plus 25% off food and beverage and 20% off events.
The VIP space has a different fee: $5,000 a year. VIP members get a “fast pass” to the courses and are first in line to tee off.
Why Bartoli created PopStroke
Bartoli, a former Wall Street banker, moved to Florida several years ago and settled in Jupiter with his young family.
He quickly became a mini-golf aficionado and developed the Lighthouse Cove Adventure Golf course, which has two locations in Jupiter.
But Bartoli said he still yearned for a golf venue where he could bring his three children and enjoy some adult me-time.
When he created PopStroke in 2018, he made sure to include play areas and playgrounds along with sports bars and television sets.
Bartoli opened PopStroke’s first location in Port St. Lucie in 2019, then brought on Woods, who lives in Jupiter Island, as a co-owner in 2020. Woods’ TGR Design redid the Port St. Lucie course.
PopStroke’s first Palm Beach County location, at 1314 N. Federal Highway in Delray Beach, opened in November 2023.
Since then, the company has opened locations across the country, including Las Vegas, Arizona and Texas. More locations are planned.
PopStroke was going to open a location in Wellington, but Bartoli said that spot has been put on hold for now.
Instead, he said PopStroke wants to build up the West Palm Beach location as a dominant destination and attract people “from all over the county.”
Woods isn’t the only major golf investor to get involved in PopStroke Entertainment Group.
The equipment company TaylorMade joined with the venture, too. Each PopStroke venue is outfitted with special edition TaylorMade golf balls for patrons to use on the putting course and take home as a keepsake.
Putters are included in the PopStroke day pass, but premium TaylorMade rental putters can be rented for $10.
PopStroke’s offices in Jupiter and Stuart employ about 75. But the company nationwide employs 2,000.
And at the West Palm Beach location alone, the company expects to hire between 175-200 people, Bartoli said.
The Popstroke golf courses are among the numerous facilities that have been coming to Palm Beach County, which is known by some to be the “golf capital of the world” because it is home to 145 courses and many of the golfers on the PGA Tour.
Alexandra Clough is a business writer at The Palm Beach Post. You can reach her at aclough@pbpost.com. X: @acloughpbp. Help support our journalism. Subscribe today.
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.
And come Monday, he’s primed to pass another benchmark previously accomplished by only two golfers.
When the Official World Golf Ranking updates Monday, Scheffler will be in the No. 1 spot for the 82nd consecutive week, breaking a tie with Nick Faldo for the fourth longest span of all-time. The only two golfers to spend more consecutive weeks atop the OWGR are Tiger Woods, who did it twice for 281 and 264 weeks, respectively, and Greg Norman, who was No. 1 for 96 straight weeks.
Scheffler is the 25th golfer all-time to reach No. 1, and he has held the position since May 21, 2023. With his massive lead in points, he’s not going anywhere for some time, either.
Next week will mark Scheffler’s 117th as No. 1 in the world, only five weeks behind Rory McIlroy’s 122, a mark he’ll pass in the middle of January. Dustin Johnson is next on the list, being in the top spot for 135 weeks, another mark that Scheffler is likely to top.
🚨BREAKING
Most world ranking points earned in a calendar year since the inception of #OWGR:
Another feat Scheffler is bound to pass is Norman’s longest stretch on top of the world at 96 straight weeks. Because of how many average points Scheffler has between he and world No. 2 Xander Schauffele, the chances of him losing the top spot in the world in the early part of 2025 are slim to none, meaning he’s likely to become the second golfer ever to spend at least 100 consecutive weeks at No. 1.
As far as catching No. 1 on that list? We’ll check back in a couple years.
As mentioned above, Scheffler earned the fourth-most OWGR points in a single year in 2024, trailing only Woods’ 2000, 2005 and 2006 seasons.
Woods is by far the most successful golfer in OWGR history, with Norman a distant second. The 28-year-old Scheffler is closing in on third with arguably the prime of his career just starting.
After 54 holes of the 2024 Hero World Challenge at Albany, Justin Thomas holds a one-shot lead at 17 under. The man behind him? World No. 1 and defending champion Scottie Scheffler, who shot a 3-under 69 on Saturday.
Tom Kim was on fire during the third round, shooting a 10-under 62. He’s alone in third at 15 under, two shots back of the lead.
The four-day, 72-hole stroke play event has a $5 million purse and a $1 million first-place prize. There are also OWGR points up for grabs this week.
11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. ET, Golf Channel/NBC Sports app
1:30 p.m. to 4:40 p.m. ET, NBC/Peacock/NBC Sports app
We occasionally recommend interesting products and services. If you make a purchase by clicking one of the links, we may earn an affiliate fee. Golfweek operates independently, though, and this doesn’t influence our coverage.
“The global impact we’re going to have is going to be more far-reaching than anything I’ve ever done.”
NASSAU, Bahamas – When Tiger Woods was a kid, his parents instilled a core principle in his life: to make an impact in one person’s life every day.
“At TGR Foundation, we are doing just that, making a meaningful impact on the lives of youth one day at a time,” Woods said.
Founded in 1996 by Tiger, TGR Foundation’s mission is to empower students to pursue their passions through education. Its signature programs serve students from under-resourced communities, providing access to education and opportunities to prepare for their futures. But to continue to make a positive impact in the lives of youth and meet the demands of evermore young people in this day and age requires a hefty budget and that’s where events such as the Hero World Challenge become critical.
The Hero World Challenge was founded by Tiger and his father Earl in January 2000 and has been played annually with Tiger as host. The Foundation and World Challenge have enjoyed paralleled success over the past 25 years.
“Without having tournaments and special events and players play, we wouldn’t be able to serve as many kids and have as big an impact as we’ve had over the years,” said Tiger, reflecting on the 25th playing of the Hero World Challenge, TGR Foundation’s longest running event to raise funds, and what has grown out of it. “These are all events that have allowed us as a foundation to have an impact not just in Southern California but in the areas where we played those events.”
As the Hero World Challenge has grown in prestige, TGR Foundation has expanded its impact. In 2001, Tiger made the important decision to focus his work on providing access to education and to create a “safe space where kids can learn, grow and chase after their dreams.” From that direction came the TGR Learning Lab in Anaheim, CA along with the Earl Woods Scholar Program, both launching in 2006. [There are 329 first-generation college students who have participated in the program, achieving a 98 percent graduation rate, among the highest scholarship graduation rates in the country, and the flagship TGR Learning Lab has supported more than 195,000 students from Southern California.]
The flagship TGR Learning Center in Anaheim opened in 2006. (Courtesy TGR Foundation)
Event revenue for non-profits is incredibly important because they tend to be unrestricted dollars. TGR Foundation also hosts the PGA Tour’s Genesis Invitational and other golf-related events such as the TGR Junior Invitational in partnership with Pebble Beach Resort and the Nexus Cup.
“We net over $10 million a year in our event revenue that helps us build the infrastructure to go into communities and build these learning labs in partnership with communities,” said TGR Foundation CEO Cyndi Court, who assumed her role in Summer 2023. “If you think about it this way, Tiger isn’t just building a family foundation that gives away money; he’s really building a non-profit.”
She compared what Tiger’s foundation has the potential to become to established powerhouses known to all such as St. Jude’s and Special Olympics.
“Tiger is developing a vision that really could be huge and so we’re beginning to look at other markets and alongside other partners that our passionate about their cities and want to make a difference,” she said. “We’ve been beginning to talk about how we can ask people to come alongside us and ‘join the roar’ and create a movement for what we can do together. It’s really important that the events fund the infrastructure to allow us to grow.”
As such, Tiger and TGR Foundation are committed to expanding its TGR Learning Labs to more communities in need. It is opening TGR Learning Lab in Philadelphia at Cobbs Creek in Spring 2025, where TGR Design is building a short course for the public to play at the campus, followed by one in Los Angeles at Lulu’s Place.
“Every city in America needs a learning lab,” Court said. “There’s 10 million kids in America that still live in poverty. So there’s a big opportunity gap. We believe if we can fill the opportunity gap, the education gap will be solved.”
TGR Foundation already has a staff of eight that’s been on the ground in West Philadelphia and serving over 2,000 young people ahead of the opening of the new learning center there next April.
“That speaks to the flexibility of our programming as well,” Court said. “I really believe that you don’t take something into any of these communities without really understanding the community and making sure that we’re asking parents, kids and educators what they want.”
A rendering of the TGR Learning Center at Cobbs Creek in Philadelphia, which is scheduled to open in Spring 2025. (Courtesy TGR Foundation)
In listening to the needs of students, TGR Foundation added programs and offerings to maximize its reach and impact, supporting teens with college and career readiness, providing free after-school courses centered science, technology, engineering, art, math (STEAM) subjects, incorporating holistic learning and support to our students and offering access to golf. Tiger’s commitment to serve and reach more kids in more markets may best be summed up when he says, “At the end of the day, 20 years from now, the global impact we’re going to have is going to be more far-reaching than anything I’ve ever done in the game of golf.”
Scottie Scheffler is up by two on the field, his second-round 64 marking the low round of the day Friday and tied for low round of the week.
Justin Thomas and Akshay Bhatia are tied for second at 11 under, two back. Bhatia was a late add to the event and he’s making the most of his visit to the Bahamas.
Sepp Straka, the last man in the field after a late Tony Finau WD, is tied for fifth at 7 under.
The four-day, 72-hole stroke play event has a $5 million purse and a $1 million first-place prize. There are also OWGR points up for grabs this week.
From Saturday’s third round starting times as well as TV and streaming information, here’s what you need to know about the 2024 Hero. All times listed are ET.
12 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. ET, Golf Channel/NBC Sports app
2:30 to 5 p.m. ET, NBC/Peacock/NBC Sports app
Sunday, Dec. 8
11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. ET, Golf Channel/NBC Sports app
1:30 p.m. to 4:40 p.m. ET, NBC/Peacock/NBC Sports app
We occasionally recommend interesting products and services. If you make a purchase by clicking one of the links, we may earn an affiliate fee. Golfweek operates independently, though, and this doesn’t influence our coverage.
From Friday’s second-round starting times as well as TV information, here’s what you need to know about the 2024 Hero. All times listed are ET.
Hero World Challenge Friday tee times
Time
Players
10:55 a.m.
Tom Kim, Jason Day
11:06 a.m.
Wyndham Clark, Matthieu Pavon
11:17 a.m.
Brian Harman, Aaron Rai
11:28 a.m.
Sepp Straka, Sungjae Im
11:39 a.m.
Keegan Bradley, Russell Henley
11:50 a.m.
Nick Dunlap, Sam Burns
12:01 p.m.
Sahith Theegala, Robert MacIntyre
12:12 p.m.
Patrick Cantlay, Scottie Scheffler
12:23 p.m.
Akshay Bhatia, Ludvig Aberg
12:34 p.m.
Cameron Young, Justin Thomas
How to watch 2024 Hero World Challenge
Golf Channel, NBC and Peacock will have live coverage of all four days of the 2024 Hero. Golf Channel will have all four days while NBC picks up the third and final rounds.
1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. ET, Golf Channel/NBC Sports app
Saturday, Dec. 7
12 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. ET, Golf Channel/NBC Sports app
2:30 to 5 p.m. ET, NBC/Peacock/NBC Sports app
Sunday, Dec. 8
11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. ET, Golf Channel/NBC Sports app
1:30 p.m. to 4:40 p.m. ET, NBC/Peacock/NBC Sports app
We occasionally recommend interesting products and services. If you make a purchase by clicking one of the links, we may earn an affiliate fee. Golfweek operates independently, though, and this doesn’t influence our coverage.
This week, golf’s silly season kicks off with the 2024 Hero World Challenge at Albany in the Bahamas. Tiger Woods once again plays host, but this time around he’s not in the field. He did, however, cover an array of subjects during his pre-tournament press conference on Tuesday, including an update on the PGA Tour-PIF deal.
As for the players teeing it up on Thursday, Scottie Scheffler looks to defend his title and will be joined by Justin Thomas, Sahith Theegala, Patrick Cantlay, Tom Kim and Jason Day, among others.
This week’s winner won’t earn FedEx Cup points, but he will get Official World Golf Ranking points as well as $1 million of the $5 million purse.
Here are some of the best photos from the Bahamas.
