Tiger Woods and his son Charlie are going to have to do something out of the ordinary this Sunday to win the PNC Championship. They have fallen far behind on the first day. A world away. They signed eight under par and are seven strokes behind Matt Kuchar and his son Cameron. The Kuchars have blown up the birdie machine at the Ritz Carlton in Florida. Scorecard of 67 strokes, with thirteen birdies and one eagle. They have only made four pars. The day could not have been more fun for them.
The Woods, however, have not finished greasing the machine. The best has been from the tee. Tiger has been very solid and Charlie has shown that his father was not lying when he revealed that he had gained club speed in this last year. And so much. He has hit good bombs. Like on the 13th, where he caught the green from one from over 320 yards. Or his exit at the 5th, after which the 14-year-old jokingly said bye, bye to his ball.
321 yards to the green.
Charlie Woods drives it 𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙧 the green @PNCChampionship 😲 pic.twitter.com/E6Cj8IWCra
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) December 16, 2023
The recoil.
The wave 👋
ALL OF THE THINGS. pic.twitter.com/HcDeH0oHjU
— PNC Championship (@PNCchampionship) December 16, 2023
They have made eight birdies which is not bad, but insufficient to be up in a format like scramble. You know, both hit and always choose the best ball. To make a result in this format you have to be very fine with the irons to leave them close and, above all, forceful with the putt. Neither one thing nor the other. Even Tiger lamented on a putt. “But man, it’s scramble, you can’t stay short,” he said after having a second chance after Charlie on a putt of about eight meters.
Be that as it may, the reality is that they have not left them very close. Tiger is not yet very precise with distance control and Charlie, probably also due to the adjustments in his swing that he is making in full growth, is not very fine either.
The best of the day, in any case, was seeing Sam, Tiger’s eldest daughter, carrying her father’s bag. She laughed with them and even threw a few glances after some missed putt. Also, obviously, it is worth noting how well Tiger has been seen physically walking the 18 holes. Tomorrow they will have another opportunity to get the thorn out and sign a really low round.
A memorable day for the Woods family ❤️ pic.twitter.com/HwzQ4rBrV0
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) December 16, 2023
The Kuchars are imposing themselves, for now, with a three-stroke lead over the Langers, the Singhs, reigning champions, the Goosens and the Duvals. The Duvals are four strokes away. Tiger and Charlie have placed themselves in eleventh place.
