Tiger, Charlie vie in PNC tilt

MIAMI (AFP) — Tiger Woods and his 15-year-old son Charlie will compete in next week’s PNC Championship, the first event for the 15-time major winner since undergoing back surgery last September, organizers announced on Tuesday.

The 36-hole scramble on 21-22 December at the Ritz-Carlton Resort in Orlando features 20 duos with a major or Players Championship winner teamed with a family member not on any professional golf tour.

The elder Woods, who turns 49 on 30 December, will unite with son Charlie for a fifth time, trying to improve on a 2021 runner-up finish after placing fifth last year.

“I’m very excited to head back to the PNC Championship next week with Charlie,” Woods said in a statement. “Playing together is something we look forward to and it’s always more special when you’re surrounded by friends and family.”

Woods skipped last week’s Hero World Challenge event in the Bahamas, an invitational 20-man tournament he hosts, after micro-decompression surgery.

He has had issues walking courses for 72 holes after severe leg injuries from a car crash but can use a cart at the PNC.

Also completing the field was Ireland’s Padraig Harrington and his son Paddy, who will start with his dad for a sixth time after his brother Ciaran made his debut last year.

The field, which has won a combined 69 major titles, includes women’s golf world number one Nelly Korda and her 56-year-old father Petr, the 1998 Australian Open tennis champion.