Tiger Woods to play PNC Championship with his son

Tiger Woods is stealing the spotlight ahead of the PNC Championship, which will be held at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club in Orlando, Florida from Dec. 19-20 (KST), because it will be his first competition after a serious car accident in February.

There is another reason why Woods is drawing attention. Many fans want to see Woods play the competition with his 12-year-old son, Charlie, for two years in a row. Woods and his son display the same techniques in driver, swing, and putting, and have the same mannerisms during a competition.

There are many side-by-side comparisons of Woods and his son on the social media. A clip of Woods and his son uploaded to the PGA Tour’s YouTube channel last December had almost 300,000 views. “Two things that stick out. The timing of the twirls and the pickup of the clubㅡof the tee,” Woods said after watching the clip ahead of the competition.

Woods also mentioned the way he and his son both touch their noses. “We both have allergies, so we both struggle on the golf course. We get like, wind blowing and we’re both sniffing,” Woods said. When he saw his and his son’s celebratory fist pumps, he said, “That’s awesome.” Woods said he made memories that will last for a life time after he and his son tied for 7th out of 20 teams at the PNC Championship last year.

Sponsors have become busy with the return of the golf legend. Woods wrote on his Twitter account that he will be using Bridgestone’s new prototype ball at the PNC Championship. There is a prediction that Woods will use a new driver from TaylorMade, which is set to be released next year.

Woods plans to participate in second day of the PNC Championship Pro-Am, one day before the official competition. He will partner with Matt Kuchar. The PNC Championship Pro-Am will unusually be broadcast live on television.


Hong-Gu Kang windup@donga.com