Tiger Woods limping in a tournament he wouldn’t dare miss

ORLANDO, Florida: Tiger Woods and his 13-year-old son shared something else in common Friday in the PNC Championship. Both were limping.

Only one of them was in a cart.

“His ankle is not exactly ... well, it’s better than mine,” Woods said, referring to son Charlie rolling his ankle and hobbling along during the pro-am. “It’s just the way it goes, just kind of bad timing on it. But we’ll be ready come game time tomorrow.”

This is one tournament Woods — Tiger or Charlie — was not about to miss. That starts with the father, who shattered his right leg in a February 2021 car crash in Los Angeles and now has plantar fasciitis in his right foot that forced him to withdraw from his Hero World Challenge two weeks ago.

He would have had to walk in the Bahamas. The PNC Championship, which pairs major champions with a family member, is sanctioned by the PGA Tour Champions. That means Woods is allowed to ride a cart.

But that could come at a cost. Asked if playing the 36-hole tournament that starts Saturday could set him back, Woods replied, “Yes.”

“You know, I don’t really care about that,” he said. “I think being there with and alongside my son is far more important, and getting to have a chance to have this experience with him is far better than my foot being a little creaky.”

That much was obvious on the first tee of their pro-am at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club Orlando. Woods piped his drive down the middle, and as Charlie went to a forward set of tees, Woods pulled out his phone to capture the image.

And it was obvious outside the ropes.

The temperature was in the low 50s. The pro-am can be tedious. And yet spectators stood shoulder-to-shoulder down the length of the hole, three- and four-deep around the tee box, to