Tiger Woods dials down expectations ahead of his return to golf for first time since horror car crash that shattered his leg as he plays alongside 12-year-old son Charlie at PNC Championship… but his practice partner says he’s playing ‘crazy good’
- Tiger Woods returns to action this weekend at PNC Championship in Orlando
- It will be his first competitive golf since life-threatening car accident in February
- Woods shattered both his legs and required multiple surgeries to walk again
- He is playing alongside his 12-year-old son Charlie at 36-hole scramble event
- But Woods was keen to play down expectations as he returns to the course
Tiger Woods has played down expectations ahead of his return to competitive golf this weekend.
Woods is partnering 12-year-old son Charlie at the PNC Championship, 10 months on from a life-threatening car accident that left the 15-time major winner needing surgery on multiple leg injuries.
Team Woods tee off on Saturday afternoon alongside Justin Thomas and his dad Mike in the first round of the 36-hole scramble event, which sees professional golfers team up with a family member in Orlando.
Tiger Woods and his son Charlie, 12, are set to play in the PNC Championship in Orlando
Woods and his 12-year-old son Charlie share a laugh during Friday’s practice round in Orlando
Woods’s longtime girlfriend Erica Herman (left) was seen observing Tiger and Charlie’s practice round on Friday
It will be the first competitive golf played by Woods since his horror car crash in February
Woods required surgery on open fractures to his lower right leg after a car crash in February
Having practiced with Woods, Mike Thomas had said it was ‘crazy how good he’s hitting it and (how) far he’s hitting it’, but the 45-year-old warned spectators to not expect much from him.
‘I’m just starting to get back into trying to play again, so I don’t quite have the endurance that I would like to have,’ he said ahead of his first competitive round of golf since 2020.
‘I’ve still got the hands, I’ve still the feel. Unfortunately sometimes the feel doesn’t really match up with the speed or the shot that I’m seeing. The ball is not quite flying as far as I’d like or I’m used to.
Tiger watches intently as Charlie lines up a putt during Friday’s Pro-Am ahead of the PNC
Woods unsheathes his driver ahead of Friday’s practice round at the PNC Championship
Team Woods bump fists during Friday’s Pro-Am as they prepare for this weekend’s event
‘(My swing is) just not as powerful. I just don’t have the speed. I can’t generate the speed (I’m) used to, and you know, the body is not what it used to be.
‘Obviously it’s been a little banged up this year, and slowly but surely I’ll get to where the speed will start coming back up, and I can start hitting the shots that I know that I see that just aren’t quite coming off.’
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