Tiger Woods Makes Incredible Comeback Alongside His Son
By: Derek Clements | Mon 20 Dec 2021
IT may only have been a fun 36-hole event. It only featured 18 former major champions and their offspring. And he used a buggy between shots. But on the eve of his 46th birthday, Tiger Woods defied the odds once again by producing some sensational golf alongside his 12-year-old son Charlie as they recorded 11 successive birdies to finish two shots behind winners John Daly and his son John Jr in the PNC Championship.
Woods says that he is nowhere near ready to play proper tournament golf yet as he continues his recovery from the leg injuries sustained in the horrific car crash in which he was involved earlier this year but he proved, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that he still has the game to compete on level terms with anybody.
In what was a remarkable return Woods and his son Charlie set a tournament record with 11 straight birdies to push the Dalys all the way.
Daly and John Daly II, a university student at Arkansas, won by two shots. But in the aftermath, Woods couldn’t wipe the smile off his face.
Swinging well within himself, he drove the ball superbly and hit a succession of glorious approach shots and commented “The fact that I’m able to have this opportunity this year - even a couple weeks ago we didn’t really know whether or not I would be doing this,” Woods said. “But here we are. And we had just best time ever.”
The birdie streak ended on the final hole, allowing Team Daly room for error they didn't need.
Daly birdied the 16th hole to regain the lead and they stayed in front when Woods and his son both chipped too strong on the par-5 closing hole and missed 8-foot birdie putts. Daly and John Daly II two-putted for birdie on the 18th for a 57 and set the record that mattered.
They finished at 27-under par, breaking by one the tournament mark set by Davis Love III and his son three years ago.
These days Daly closely resembles Father Christmas and, like Woods, needed to use a buggy.
Woods suffered multiple injuries to his right leg on February. 23 when his SUV traveling about 85 mph crashed in Los Angeles.
He said amputation was a possibility. It took three months for him to get on his feet with help of crutches. And he ended the year in a Sunday red shirt, holing birdie putts and delivering short irons that led to one birdie after another and a chase that felt like old times.
This wasn't just about Woods. His son, playing this event for the second straight year, delivered the goods down the stretch, particularly a 5-iron to 4 feet on the par-3 17th that gave them a tie for the lead going to the 18th.
Team Daly was two groups behind and held it steady.
It was only one month ago when Woods first posted a three-second video showing him hitting a short iron with the message, “Making progress.” He was hitting balls at the back of the range at Albany in the Bahamas two weeks ago. He was able to ride a cart at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club Orlando, which helped him get by in the 36-hole event.
And he kept insisting that returning to the PGA Tour is still a long way and that he has a lot of rehab work ahead of him.
“The competitive juices, they are never going to go away. This is my environment,” Woods said. “This is what I’ve done my entire life. I’m just so thankful to be able to have this opportunity to do it again.”
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