Tiger Woods revealed that his son Charlie, aged 15, has beaten him in a round of golf for the first time – though he was quick to clarify it was over nine, not 18, holes.
“Yeah, he beat me for nine holes,” Woods told reporters on Friday, per the PGA Tour. “He has yet to beat me for 18 holes. That day is coming; I’m just prolonging it for as long as I possibly can.”
The father-and-son pair were making their way around the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club in Orlando, Florida in Friday’s pro-am ahead of the annual PNC Championship this weekend, marking Woods’ public return to golf after he succesfully underwent back surgery in September.
“It was just a fun day to be out here playing again, and looking forward to the weekend,” Woods said after his Friday round.
The 15-time major winner has not played since The Open in July. He has made just 13 starts on the PGA Tour over the past four seasons and has completed a full four rounds just twice since suffering serious leg injuries in a car accident in 2021.
On Friday, Woods described the challenges of putting together a string of good rounds and the toll it takes on his body.
“I’ve had a lot of procedures over the course of time. I’m not going to feel what I used to feel. And the recovery is going to be on the harder side. I can go for a day here or there, but over the course of rounds, weeks, months, it just gets harder.”
Woods said that his son Charlie has grown “3.5 to 4 inches in height” and has gotten “stronger, faster, heavier” since last year, so he’s hoping that Charlie will handle all the driving and the putting while Tiger can just serve as “backup” in the tournament.
This will be the fifth time Team Woods play at the two-day, 36-hole competition that features 20 major champions and their family members.
Woods also shared the advice he’s given son Charlie to deal with the pressure of competing with the Woods name.
“I just always remind him ‘Just be you.’ Charlie is Charlie. Yes he’s my son, he’s gonna have that last name as part of the sport, but I just want him to just be himself, you know, and be your own person. That’s what we’ll always focus on, and we’ll always encourage it, for him just to carve his own name, to carve his own path and have his own journey.”
When asked how Charlie is handling the spotlight so far, Woods answered, “I think he’s doing a great job.”
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