FLORIDA, ORLANDO— The first professional event Tiger Woods played in was a European Tour stop in Thailand. He was a senior in high school and 18 years old. It was also his first time playing with Bernhard Langer.
The youthful Langer is still going strong after thirty years.
As the year came to a close, Langer and his son Jason shot a 13-under-par 59 in 30 mph winds to beat David Duval and his son by two shots at the PNC Championship, which pairs major winners with family members.
Langer shared Raymond Floyd’s record for the most tournament wins with his fifth. He won three with Jason and two with his older son Stefan.
In the scramble style, Woods and his 14-year-old son Charlie both shot 61, tying for fifth place. One of their shots was so risky that Woods could only laugh. The 15-time major champion’s son chipped in for birdie on the ninth hole at The Ritz-Carlton Golf Club after he missed the green by a long way to the left.
It wasn’t just the chip-in; it was also the look, the stumble, the raised finger, and the fist pump. And Woods couldn’t help but smile even bigger when he looked over at Steve Stricker.
As Woods put it, “I saw his reaction right in front of me.” It made him happy, and when I looked over at Stricks, he was shaking his head. It was outstanding.
Tiger Woods is upbeat after how he played on the second day of the Hero World Challenge.
That’s what the PNC Championship is all about. Coastal Carolina player Brady Duval hit a 6-iron to 2 feet on the last hole for an eagle that put him in second place. His father, who used to be world No. 1, was so happy.
However, Langer, a 66-year-old German who has won the Masters twice, had the day and the year. On the Champions Tour, he won twice, giving him 46 wins overall. This broke Hale Irwin’s mark, which was thought to be unbreakable at the time.
The 46th win was the US Senior Open, no less.
Langer and his son, who works in investment banking in New York, started three shots behind Kuchar and his son. They played so well that after four holes, they were in first place and never looked back. The only hole they didn’t make par was the par-3 eighth, but they had 10 birdies in 11 holes.
Jason doesn’t get to play as much because of work, but he came to Florida early to practise, and the time he spent on the greens paid off. His misses were pretty small.
“It was amazing to see him put,” Langer said. “Everytime, the ball started on line. If it didn’t go through, it’s because I got the green wrong. He likely would have made all of them if not.
Langer, Floyd, and their PNC titles are different because Langer and Floyd have been around longer. It was 18 years ago that Langer won the Willie Park Trophy, a red leather champion’s belt. That was his first PNC Championship.
Tiger Woods finished the Hero World Challenge where?
Floyd won the first seven PNC Championships.
Woods knows all about how long the German has lived. In Thailand, where his mother is from, he played in the Johnnie Walker Classic and was paired with Langer, who was the current Masters winner.
“I’ve never seen anyone work in metres before these pictures.” “That was different for me,” Woods mentioned.
“Having seen what he’s done since then, what he does every year, and the different styles he keeps fighting through on the greens, it just goes to show what kind of personality, determination, and person he is to be able to stick through everything,” he said.
Langer describes a teenager who was very skinny but had a lot of speed, strength, and “a hunger for the game.” His actions have been above and beyond what was expected.
At the end of the year, Woods played in two tournaments: the PNC Championship, which was 36 holes and 72 holes in the Bahamas. He walked all but one round in Orlando, but his ankle wasn’t hurt. Other parts of his body were.
But there was still hope for 2024, and he is still determined to play at least once a month.
His words were, “I’ll be able to walk and play.” “We worked out hard and were able to get better.” Excellent, we’ve been working out every day. In all honesty, I haven’t hit a shot that mattered in a long time, so it’s been nice to get rid of some rust and doubt. Needing to post a score and make shots on the right number of occasions has been enjoyable.
The caddie for Langer’s son-in-law asked where the forward tee was for 84-year-old Lee Trevino and Will McGee, Annika Sorenstam’s 12-year-old son. Langer was walking up the 18th green.
The father-in-law of Langer suggested that he might be on those forward tees one year “chasing it with one of the grandchildren.”” Latter smiled at this.
He said, “We’ll see.”
