Langers beats Tiger and son Charlie in PNC Championship playoff

Golf superstar Tiger Woods was thrilled with son Charlie’s first hole-in-one, but Team Langer edged out the Woods duo in a playoff for the crown at the PNC Championship Family Golf Event on Sunday.

15-year-old Charlie Woods’ ace on the 176-yard par-3 fourth hole at Ritz-Carlton Golf Club in Orlando briefly lifted the duo into the solo lead in the 36-hole, two-player scramble event.

The boy watched his seven-iron shot as far as he could, but it was only the cheers of the crowd that made him realize that it had landed about six feet short of the mark and rolled into the cup.

A beaming Tiger Woods hugged his son tightly and then gave him a playful shove in celebration.

“It was a perfect 7-iron, so I just hit it,” Charlie Woods told Golf Channel as he walked toward the fourth green. “It was great! I didn’t think it went in.”

The elder Woods called it “an incredible moment.”

“That two-hole stretch, that was his first eagle he made out there with three holes, and then his first hole-in-one,” the 15-time major champion said.

After grabbing a share of the lead overnight with a first-round score of 59, the Woods duo combined for a score of 57 on Sunday and a record-breaking 36-hole score of 28 under.

But two-time Masters champion Bernhard Langer and his son Jason, who were in a three-way battle for the lead at the start of the day, achieved the same result.

On the first playoff hole, Bernhard Langer curled in with an eagle putt to give the duo their second straight win in the 20-team event.

Langer has now won six PNC titles – four with Jason and two with son Stefan.

Despite the relaxed atmosphere of the tournament, there were plenty of fireworks on Sunday.

Paddy Harrington, son of three-time major winner Padraig Harrington, also had a hole-in-one and said his ace on the par-3 eighth was the first of his life.

“I’ve never been so excited,” said Padraig Harrington. “I’ve never hit a shot that made me so excited.”

The event was a chance for Tiger Woods, who turns 49 on December 30, to get a taste of friendly competition for the first time since missing the cut at the British Open at Royal Troon.

Woods, whose 82 U.S. PGA Tour titles are tied with Sam Snead for the most in history, said he still has a long way to go to return to top-level competition after undergoing his sixth back surgery in September.

He continues to battle lower leg injuries sustained in a car accident in 2021, but was able to walk instead of using a cart in both rounds in Orlando, where the rules would have permitted it.

“I’ve done a few things here and there,” Woods said, but added that for him this week is “all about family.”

“This is about bonding and having a great time, and that’s what we did,” said Woods, whose daughter Sam caddied for him.

BB/DJ