Ten months after his right leg was badly damaged in a car crash, Tiger Woods is returning to competition next week with his 12-year-old son Charlie in the PNC Championship.
“Although it’s been a long and challenging year, I am very excited to close it out by competing in the PNC Championship with my son Charlie,” Woods wrote on Twitter. “I’m playing as a Dad and couldn’t be more excited and proud.”
It will be Tiger’s first competitive golf – even if it is in a tournament he described last week as the “hit-and-giggle” variety that he can play – since the 15-time major winner and his son tied for seventh a year ago in the unofficial event that pairs family members.
Tournament officials were holding a spot for Woods, and he fueled speculation he might play the Dec. 18-19 event at the Ritz Carlton Golf Club Orlando when he took full swings with driver this past weekend during the PGA Tour’s Hero World Challenge, the 20-player event he annually hosts in the Bahamas.
“We have been liaising with Tiger and his team for some time and are delighted that he has now decided to make his return to competitive golf at the PNC Championship,” said Alastair Johnston of IMG, the executive chairman of the event.