It was tough to judge the state of Tiger Woods game during last Saturday’s presentation of “The Match” at the Pelican Golf Club in Belleair.
It was dark, under the lights, the evening air in locations near the Gulf of Mexico is heavy. The dew formed quickly on the fairways and greens. Not your standard playing conditions.
The Match was basically a mis-match and Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas threw seven birdies over the first 10 holes at Tiger and partner Rory McIlroy. It ended 3-and-2, no contest as Tiger and Rory won only one hole all night.
This coming weekend we will get a final glimpse of Tiger when he tees it up alongside son Charlie at the PNC Championship at the Ritz Carlton Golf Club in Orlando.
Last year Tiger and Charlie made a late run but came up two shots short of team Daly — John and John II.
Team Daly shot 27-under par. Justin Thomas and his dad, Mike, tied for third at 24-under with Stewart Cink and his son, Connor.
There may be a bit of bad news for Tiger concerning the weather in Orlando. A strong storm front will be moving across the state on Thursday, bringing much cooler temperatures to the state. On Saturday, high temps will be around 65, a low of 52. It will be a bit more chilly for Sunday’s final round — a high of 60, low of 46. And those temps are not ideal for someone with a surgically-repaired body — i.e. — Tiger.
In all, there are 20 major champions in this year’s field. A new entry is Jordan Spieth, who will compete alongside his father, Shawn. LPGA Hall of Famer Annika Sorenstam will be playing with her 11-year-old son Will. It’s Will’s first time out.
As for Tiger, this may be the last time anyone sees him in action until the 2023 Masters. And that’s 113 days away. Tiger will need every bit of that to get back to where he can walk a difficult golf course and hopefully contend.
PNC Teams (Alphabetical Order):
Stewart Cink and son Connor Cink
John Daly and son John Daly II
David Duval and son Brady Duval
Nick Faldo and son Matthew Faldo
Jim Furyk and son Tanner Furyk
Padraig Harrington and son Patrick Harrington
Nelly Korda and dad Petr Korda
Matt Kuchar and son Carson Kuchar
Bernhard Langer and son Jason Langer
Tom Lehman and son Sean Lehman
Justin Leonard and son Luke Leonard
Mark O’Meara and son Shaun O’Meara
Gary Player and grandson Jordan Player
Nick Price and son Greg Price
Vijay Singh and son Qass Singh
Annika Sorenstam and son Will McGee
Jordan Spieth and dad Shawn Spieth
Justin Thomas and dad Mike Thomas
Lee Trevino and son Daniel Trevino
Tiger Woods and son Charlie Woods
