The countdown is on — T-minus six days and counting — the return of Tiger Woods is at hand.
Woods got the golf world buzzing last week when he decided that he and son Charlie will be in the field for this weekend’s PNC Championship at the Ritz Carlton Golf club in Orlando.
Someone else will be back after a long layoff as well — Tiger’s faithful caddie, Joe LaCava, will be in town to help his boss with yardages and Joe’s son will caddy for Charlie Woods, as he did last year.
No doubt television ratings will be off the charts. Don’t try to get tickets if you live in or around Orlando — this one has always had restricted, almost invitation-only passes for spectators. Better have a connection with PNC or one of the participants.
Speaking of participants, there will be a total of 20 teams consisting of a professional who has won a major championship and a relative of some sort.
New face in this year’s field is the No. 1 female player in the world — Nelly Korda. She’ll be teaming with father Petr, a former world-class professional tennis player.
There are a lot of other familiar names on the pro side — Tom Watson, Gary Player and Lee Trevino. For the first time in a long time, Jack Nicklaus is not in the field.
Another new team is Bubba Watson playing with father-in-law Wayne Ball.
John Daly is back with his son, John Jr., who isn’t Little John any more — he’s a freshman golfer at Arkansas although he saw limited playing time this season — failing to make the top five for the big tournaments.
The team likely to be paired with Tiger and Charlie for Saturday’s first round is world No. 6 Justin Thomas and his father Mike, a PGA Professional. Justin is the highest-ranked male professional in the field.
The PNC Championship Field:
Bubba Watson/Wayne Ball (father-in-law)
David Duval/Brady Duval (son)
Gary Player/Jordan Player (grandson)
Henrik Stenson/Karl Stenson (son)
Jim Furyk/Tanner Furyk (son)
John Daly/Little John Daly (son)
Justin Thomas/Mike Thomas (father)
Lee Trevino/Daniel Trevino (son)
Mark O’Meara/Shaun O’Meara (son)
Matt Kuchar/Cameron Kuchar (son)
Nelly Korda/Petr Korda (father)
Nick Faldo/Matthew Faldo (son)
Nick Price/Greg Price (son)
Padraig Harrington/Paddy Harrington (son)
Rich Beem/Michael Beem (son)
Stewart Cink/Reagan Cink (son)
Tom Lehman/Sean Lehman (son)
Tom Watson/Michael Watson (son)
Tiger Woods/Charlie Woods (son)
Vijay Singh/Qass Singh (son)
