Tiger Woods' goal to keep son, 15, from beating him over 18 holes - ESPN
ORLANDO, Fla. — Tiger Woods turns 49 at the end of the month, and he has one pressing goal that relates to his golf. He wants to prolong the inevitable day when his son beats him over 18 holes.
They will be playing with — not against — each other this week for the fifth straight year at the PNC Championship, a 36-hole tournament so meaningful to them and everyone else in the field that Woods was determined to play for the first time since a sixth back surgery in September.
Word got out, however, that 15-year-old Charlie finally beat his 15-time major champion dad.
«He beat me for nine holes,» Woods said, an important clarification to him. «He has yet to beat me for 18 holes. That day is coming. I'm just prolonging it as long as I possibly can.»
As for the details, Woods talked about the typical banter between them and how much fun they have. It was clear he was not going to share the hole-by-hole of the loss.
Winning is a goal, but not the priority, at the PNC Championship. It's a happy end of the year for all 20 teams at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club Orlando, an event that pairs the winners of majors or The Players Championship with a family member.
Woods played five tournaments this year and completed only one of them, making the cut at the Masters for a record 24th consecutive year. He had to play 23 holes on Friday at Augusta National in a raging wind, posting a 72 for his best round of the year. He followed that with an 82, an example of ups and downs from a player whose body has been wracked with injury.
«I'm not going to feel what I'm used to feeling,» Woods said. «The recovery has gotten to be the hardest part. But over the course of rounds, weeks, months, it gets harder.»
He missed the cut in the next three majors