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ORLANDO – After a birdie at the 17th hole, Justin Leonard stood on the 18th tee at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club and waited to hit his tee shot. Realizing that he and his son Luke had finally taken the tee away, he cracked, “I’m going to soak this up because I finally got the honors.”
Tiger Woods and the gallery all had a chuckle. Tiger and Charlie Woods birdied the last to shoot a scramble total of 13-under 59 to share the lead at the PNC Championship with Team Langer and Team Singh.
“Just let it be known, we’d still have the honor if there was any more golf to play,” Justin Leonard said to Tiger after he holed an eagle putt at the last.
But it was Team Woods – with daughter Sam on dad’s bag and ex-wife Elin Nordegren in the gallery – that dazzled with 13 birdies on a sunny but brisk Saturday in the 20-team field that features 11 former world No. 1’s, 69 major titles and 1,080 total professional wins between these legends.
“We picked each other up, which was great. And Charlie made pretty much most of the putts today,” Tiger said.
PNC: Photos of Tiger and Charlie
For the second straight day, Tiger, who underwent his sixth back surgery in September, walked all 18 holes at an event where contestants are allowed to take a cart, per Champions Tour rules. He didn’t have to hit a putt for the first five holes as Charlie took care of business on the greens en route to a 6-under 30 on the front nine. At the ninth, Charlie hit his approach a little low in the clubface but it turned out just fine, stopping 10 feet from the hole. Still, Charlie wasn’t satisfied.
“Dad, don’t hit it like I did,” he muttered. “Please hit it more solid than me.”
Sam Woods, who caddied for her dad for the second straight year, shot back, “You’re so negative.”
Ah, family fun in full effect during this joyous holiday season.
Team Woods started the back nine with a birdie and then strung together five birdies in a row starting at No 12.
“We’re right there,” Woods said. “There’s a bunch of teams that are up there. We’re going to have to shoot another ground tomorrow. And you know, make a bunch of birdies and hopefully we can do that and get off to a good start, and then develop it into the back nine.”
Vjay Singh and his son, Qass, who won this event in 2022, eagled 14 in their round of 59. Qass credited his dad with doing the heavy lifting.
“His back is hurting a lot,” Qass said.
Bernhard Langer and his son Jason, are the defending champs and well positioned to defend their title. Ten years ago, Bernhard Langer won the first of five titles (three times with Jason and twice with Stefan).
“Jason made some wonderful putts and hit some really good shots. I’m very proud of him the way he played, and we’re happy to be co-leaders at this stage and time,” Bernhard said.
Padraig Harrington and his son Paddy, and Tom Lehman and his son Sean, who finished with a 4-putt bogey at the last, are one shot off the pace heading into the final round of the 36-hole team event.
“It’s going to be a shootout. It’s anybody within, you know, three or four shots have a chance to win,” said Vijay Singh.
Tiger, who is playing competitively for the first time since the British Open in July, has downplayed the importance of winning this week. Likewise, Charlie noted that he tried too hard to win last year when Team Woods finished T-3 and the focus this year is simply to have fun, a phrase that both Tiger and Charlie have said on repeat. What would winning mean to Charlie, “I don’t know, we’ve got to figure that out first. We’ve got to get there, and then I’ll tell you.”
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Tiger Woods and Charlie share the lead at the PNC Championship 2024
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