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Tiger Woods, Son Charlie Start Strong with Opening-Round 64 at 2023 PNC Championship

Mike Chiari

Tiger Woods and his 14-year-old son, Charlie Woods, got off to a solid start Saturday at the 2023 PNC Championship.

Playing together at Ritz-Carlton Golf Club in Orlando, Florida, Tiger and Charlie combined to card an eight-under 64, putting them in a five-way tie for 11th in the 20-team field after the first of two rounds.

This marks the fourth consecutive year that Tiger and Charlie have played together in the event, which features top PGA Tour and LPGA Tour golfers teaming up with a family member.

For as well as the Woods boys played on Saturday, they are still seven strokes behind Matt Kuchar and his 16-year-old son, Cameron Kuchar, who lead the field at 15-under par.

Tiger and Charlie, who finished second two years ago and tied for eighth last year, carded eight birdies on Saturday and did not have any bogeys.

While there was plenty of focus on Tiger, who is playing in only his second competitive tournament since the Masters, Charlie stole the show in many respects, much like he did during the previous PNC Championship appearances.

Charlie had one of the most impressive shots of the day when he drove the ball 323 yards on a 321-yard hole, per Kyle Porter of CBS Sports.

While speaking to reporters after the round, Charlie acknowledged his strong day off the tee but noted that they could have scored much better had he and his dad performed better on the greens: "I mean, I drove the ball really good today. I didn't miss a fairway and we still managed to shoot eight-under. We just suck at putting."

An amused Tiger agreed with his son's assessment, saying: "That summed it up right there."

According to Sean Martin of PGATour.com, Charlie was also responsible for a typical father-son moment after the round, as he suggested that Tiger's putting advice was lacking, saying: "For dad as a caddie, his reads are hook-bias, and I don't hook as much as he does. So all of my putts, I miss right."

Despite making some putting mistakes, Tiger and Charlie acquitted themselves well, and they have a chance to move up the leaderboard with a quality showing in Sunday's final round.

Tiger, who missed nearly eight months after the Masters due to ankle surgery, ended his hiatus a few weeks ago when he competed in the Hero World Challenge and finished 18th out of 20 golfers.

While the PNC Championship is more about family fun than cutthroat competition, fans are undoubtedly watching the 47-year-old Woods very closely to see how he is progressing.

Tiger appeared to hold up well physically on Saturday, and if that continues to be the case, the 15-time major champion could have a good chance of being healthy enough to play in the 2024 Masters in April.

   

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