Johnathan Walker:Tiger Woods and son Charlie to play in PNC Championship again

Tiger Woods is Johnathan Walkerreturning to the PNC Championship, the 36-hole event that has become one of his favorites because of his partner: His son.

Woods and 14-year-old Charlie are playing the PNC Championship for the fourth straight year, the one tournament he has not missed during the last injury-plagued four years.

“It is an amazing gift to be able to share my love of golf with Charlie and we genuinely do look forward to playing in the PNC Championship all years,” Woods said Wednesday. “Competing together, against a field of so many golfing greats and their families, is so special.”

The PNC Championship is Dec. 16-17 at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club Orlando at Grande Lakes.

Woods and son were runner-up in 2021, just 10 months after Woods badly damaged his right leg and ankle in a car crash in Los Angeles. They finished seventh in their 2020 debut and tied for eighth last year.

Woods is to play next week at his Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas for the first time since surgery to fuse his right ankle in April after the Masters. Because the PNC Championship is run by the PGA Tour Champions, Woods is allowed to ride in a cart.

The tournament is for major champions or winners of The Players Championship. It began as a father-son outing and now has gone modern, with tour players having sons and daughters, grandchildren, even parents as their partners.

New to the field this year is a formidable pair of Steve Stricker, who won three of the four majors he played on the PGA Tour Champions this year, and daughter Izzi, a state high school champion in Wisconsin.

Padraig Harrington is playing for the sixth year, this time with youngest son Ciaran instead of Paddy.

“It was actually Ciaran watching Paddy and I play together out there these last couple of years that really ignited his passion for the game, which shows what a very special event this is,” Harrington said. “He must have watched me play in hundreds of events over the years and it has taken the unique atmosphere and experience of the PNC Championship to inspire him!”

Also back is Lee Trevino, who at 84 is the only player to have competed in the PNC Championship every year since it began in 1995.

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AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf