Tiger Woods felt an unexpected rush of nerves as he stepped onto the tee for a typical pro-am round on Friday, recognizing how long it had been since he’d had an audience on the golf course.
Everyone was on their feet in the small grandstand behind the tee. For 95 yards down the left side of the hole, spectators packed every inch behind the ropes. Another must-see moment involving Woods, but this time in a very different situation.
Woods returned to golf at the PNC Championship with his 12-year-old son Charlie ten months after breaking his right leg in a vehicle accident in suburban Los Angeles.
Is it time for Tiger Woods to reclaim his title? Not at all.
Even still, seeing him in golf garb on Friday, taking full swings and holing putts, was no less surprising than seeing him on Feb. 23 in his wrecked SUV.
“I haven’t played too many tee shots and then all of a sudden there are folks off the tee box,” Woods explained. “It was a fantastic day.” It felt great to get back out there playing and spending time with my son. And we just had a great time.”
They are the main attraction at the 36-hole event, which, like last year, couples parents and children, but with one major difference. A year ago, there was a lot of interest in seeing the 15-time major champion’s little kid.
At the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club Orlando, about two dozen reporters, largely cameras, waited along the circle drive and elevated their equipment each time a car approached. Woods deceived them once more, going in from the parking lot as if nothing had happened.
Over the last six holes, he stopped hitting complete strokes and didn’t have much power on his tee shots. That was unavoidable. Competing in a real event at the highest level, as he stated two weeks ago in the Bahamas, is a long way off.
“It’s just not as strong,” Woods explained. “My body isn’t what it used to be, and I can’t generate the speed I used to.” Clearly, it’s been a bit of a shambles this year. And, slowly but steadily, I’ll regain my speed, allowing me to resume hitting the shots that aren’t quite falling off.”
There were a few encouraging indicators. He leaned over to retrieve the tee after his first drive, putting all of his weight on his injured right leg. He walked with a deliberate pace at times. His walk was also slower and more deliberate at times.
Woods walked from the back tee to the forward tee that his son is using, and then he got into a cart that he can use for a 20-team event that includes Gary Player, 86, and Henrik Stenson’s 11-year-old son.
It’ll be four months till the Masters. Even in his prime, Woods confronts the most difficult walk of his life at Augusta National.
“I couldn’t walk this golf course right now,” Woods added, despite the fact that it is flat. “I don’t have the stamina.” My leg isn’t quite right yet, and it’ll take some time to get it there. I’m still a long way from competing in golf tournaments. This is it. I’m going to hit it, get in a cart, and go about my business.
“I’m a long way from being able to play tournament golf and recover, practice, train, and smash balls after a round and do all the things that I need to be at a high level.”
He did go to the range after his pro-am round, but only as a spectator at first. Charlie tossed a bag of balls into the air and started hitting wedges. Woods sat down in the grass and elevated his right knee, leaning against the back of a cart.
He eventually climbed to his feet and hit wedges side by side with Charlie before moving over to a bunker for some practice. It was light and simple, which is about all Woods can manage right now.
On Saturday, Woods, Justin Thomas, and his father, the defending winners, are in the final group.
Last year, Woods and his son tied for ninth, and then Woods underwent his sixth surgery on his lower back, delaying the start of his season. Then, with his season and nearly his career on the line, his SUV drove over a median on a winding road and rolled down a hill, investigators estimated he was doing at least 84 mph.
And now he’s riding on a cart while playing golf in a family event with major champs. But this is golf, after all. “Yes and no,” Woods said when asked if he was surprised to be back so fast.
When he was immobile for three months in a makeshift hospital bed at his home, his major aim was to walk on his own, it seemed improbable.
It wasn’t by chance that he arrived at his conclusion.
“Every day we worked,” he added. “Even when I wasn’t feeling well, we continued to work on something.” Except for those three months in bed, there was never a day off.”
It’s unclear where it’ll lead. For the time being, he was content to be playing with his son, making his first appearance on network television with a golf club in his hands this year.
