Charlie Woods hit his first hole-in-one, Tiger Woods went driver off the deck, and the father and son shot rounds of 59 and 57 to make their first PNC Championship playoff.
But it was not enough to best 67-year-old Bernhard Langer and his son Jason, who won Bernhard’s sixth and Jason’s fourth PNC title with the former making an eagle putt on the second playoff hole Sunday.
Yes, the PNC Championship had everything, the annual parent/child (or grandchild) hit-and-giggle at Ritz-Carlton Golf Club in Orlando delivering like it never has before. Tiger has had that effect his entire career, and so did Charlie on Sunday.
The 15-year-old Woods hit a 7-iron from 178 yards out on the par-3 4th to within a few feet, then watched it bounce into the cup. The ace put the Woods duo in the lead at 17-under-par during the second and final round.
As the gallery erupted, Charlie looked to his father with a shocked look, before Tiger wrapped Charlie in his arms.
“You’re buying,” Tiger later told Charlie, as they waited for the Langers to finish the hole.
“I’m broke,” Charlie responded.
Charlie Woods just made his first ever hole-in-one!!
📺: GOLF Channel pic.twitter.com/yEvN3HuYWP
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) December 22, 2024
The duo, really a trio with Tiger’s daughter Sam carrying his bag, were in their fifth year playing the PNC.
A scoring fest played under scramble rules (and not an official PGA Tour event), there was little reason not to go for it at every opportunity. That’s why Tiger, some 280 yards out on the par-5 14th, ripped driver and landed his ball on the green, setting up birdie to get to 25-under-par.
The Woods and Langhers, playing in the final group, went to No. 18 tied at 27-under-par and, speaking to the unusual format of this event, started the par 5 at three different sets of tee boxes (Tiger at the back tees, Charlie and Jason one up and Bernhard, who on the Champions Tour last month, at the forward tees). They traded birdies to break John Daly and John Daly II’s scoring record, set in 2021, and move onto a playoff.
Both groups had eagle putts on the second playoff hole, and Charlie’s scared the cup, causing him to fall to his knees when it did not. Tiger pushed his putt left, allowing the Langers to win it. Bernhard made his putt — the Langers have won back-to-back years now, and first won in 2014, when Charlie was five.
It was seen as a positive sign for Tiger’s 2025 prospects that he walked all three days — participants have an option to use a golf cart — after September back surgery. Tiger dismissed the correlation in an interview with NBC after the round.
“I’m nowhere near competitive shape. I’m a great scramble partner,” Tiger joked.
The PNC Championship typically features some of the game’s current stars and even more of its legends from both the PGA Tour and LPGA. Nelly Korda, Vijay Singh, Lee Trevino, Annika Sorenstam and Gary Player were also part of the 20-team field.
(Top photo of Tiger, left, and Charlie Woods: Mike Ehrmann / Getty Images)
