Tiger Woods risking injury at PNC Championship, but golf with Charlie means more
Tiger Woods admitted that he is risking more injury setbacks by playing at the PNC Championship, but the enjoyment of playing with his son overrides his concerns.
15-time major champion Tiger Woods revealed he "doesn't care" about the risk of further injury to his right foot as playing with his son at the PNC Championship is more important.
Speaking to the press at the PNC Championship, Woods spoke passionately about the enjoyment he gets from teeing it up with his 13-year-old son Charlie. They are looking to go one better than their runner-up finish from 2021 this week.
The 46-year-old described playing with Charlie at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club in Orlando on Friday as "magical." They were pictured alongside Annika Sorenstam and her son Will McGee earlier today in Florida ahead of tomorrow's first round of the 36-hole event.
Woods told the media that walking is his main issue and a case of plantar fasciitis ruled him out of the Hero World Challenge earlier this month. But the thought of another setback was insignificant in his preparation for such a special family event.
"Yes (I could make it worse). I don't really care about that. I think being there with and alongside my son is far more important and the chance to have these experiences with him are far better than my foot being a little creaky," Woods said.
On the tee...Team Woods #PNCchampionship #CelebrateFamily pic.twitter.com/XjLQbZTQOH
— PNC Championship (@PNCchampionship) December 16, 2022
"It's been a little harder than people probably imagined. Some of the players who are very close to me know what I've gone through. They're the ones that keep encouraging me to back off a little bit.
"But that's not really in my nature. My nature is trying to get better and I have. Through my work ethic, I was able to play and compete in three major championships this year and this off-season hasn't really been an off-season. I've kind of wrapped things up.
"But after this come Monday, we shut it all down and take care of this foot so I can wrap up properly. You've seen I can hit golf balls, I can do all that. I can practise at home, I can hit shots around greens, I can do all that.
"I just can't get from point A to point B."
In their round today, Charlie seemed to struggle with pain in his ankle, but Woods ruled out any issue. "We'll be ready come game time tomorrow," he declared.
At the Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas, Woods said he encouraged Charlie to copy Rory McIlroy's swing and not his own. He also admitted that his son was catching him up in length off the tee too, which makes for an exciting prospect for the next two days.
Squad goals pic.twitter.com/puSLc3paT9
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) December 16, 2022
After changes were made to Charlie's tee position this week, he will play two tees up from the back tees that his father will play from. He will now play the course at 6,452 yards instead of 6,754.
The exciting duo will tee it up in the final group at 12.17 pm local time with Justin Thomas and his father Mike on Saturday, just as they did as last year's competition.
As he said, Woods is aiming to wrap things up after this week, having also played in The Match with McIlroy, Thomas and Jordan Spieth on December 10. It seems the 82-time PGA Tour winner surprised himself with how much he played in 2022.
"I played more this year than I certainly thought (I would) at the beginning of the year. I was just hoping just to play the British Open at St Andrews, but I got the chance to play in three major championships," he added.
"That's far more than what I had expected going into the year, so it's been positive - not yet (knowing where/when he'll play in 2023). If I didn't have this plantar (fasciitis) then yes, I could tell you that, I'd have a better idea.
"But I'm supposed to be resting this thing and stretching and letting it heal, but I'm not doing that at the moment."
