Tiger Woods is returning to the PNC Championship with 15-year-old son Charlie, the 15-time major champion’s first competition since the British Open in July and after having a sixth surgery on his back three months ago.
Woods, who turns 49 on Dec. 30, has played the 36-hole PNC Championship with Charlie every year since 2020. The tournament invites players who have won majors or The Players Championship with family members, typically their children.
“Playing together is something we look forward to, and it’s always more special when you’re surrounded by friends and family,” Woods said.
The PNC Championship is Dec. 21-22 at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club in Orlando, Florida. New to the 20-team tournament this year are Fred Couples and stepson Hunter Hannemann, as well as Trevor Immelman and son Jacob.
Because the tournament is sanctioned by the PGA Tour Champions, Woods will be able to ride in a cart, key to him playing. He chose to sit out last week at the Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas, where he is the tournament host, because he said his game was not sharp enough to compete against a field of the top 20 players in the world.
Woods set a Masters record in April by making his 24th consecutive cut, but he missed the cut in the other three majors this year. He had a microdiscectomy in September to alleviate pain down his legs, his sixth surgery on his lower back.
The biggest one was fusion surgery in 2017, and he followed that by winning the Tour Championship a year later and capturing his 15th major with a fifth Masters title in 2019. His last victory was the Zozo Championship in Japan in the fall of 2019, tying Sam Snead for the PGA Tour’s record of 82 career titles.
But there is no indication how often he can play in 2025.
“Whether my commitment going forward is once a month, yeah, I could say that all over again,” Woods said last week. “But I truly don’t know. I’m just trying to rehab and still get stronger and better and feel better, really give myself the best chance I can going into next year.”
The PNC Championship also features 13-year-old Will McGee, the son of Annika Sorenstam, and 89-year-old Gary Player. Nelly Korda returns to play with her father, former tennis Grand Slam champion Petr Korda.