Tiger Woods partnered 12-year-old son Charlie to a second-place finish at the PNC Championship; 36-hole scramble event was Woods' first competitive start since sustaining career-threatening injuries in February's car crash
Monday 20 December 2021 18:14, UK
Rob Lee looks back at an impressive return to action at the PNC Championship for Tiger Woods and debates about how far he is away from a major comeback.
I don't know what the viewing figures were for the PNC Championship, but the whole two days were just magical. Once Tiger put his name down and said he was playing, the interest must have gone through the roof. Woods doesn't move the needle, he is the needle!
Woods and his son Charlie came so close to winning and it was, after what he has been through, a fairy tale for Tiger, it really was. Considering all the time he has had off, the level of Tiger's game was incredible.
He was swinging the club so well, so all he needs to be able to do to get out there again and win again is get himself around the golf course. He was riding a cart and just can't put in the miles, but I'm sure with the way he is that he's going to get to a point where his leg is strong enough to endure a practice round and four tournament rounds.
Once he tees it up, he's only coming back to win. Tiger is not coming back just to take part and if you see Tiger pegging it up next year anywhere, he's turning up because he thinks he can win and I would not back against it.
Tiger is indomitable and you just can't hold him down. As bad as it looked for Woods when he had the crash 10 months ago, I gave him a hope of coming back because he's more driven than anyone we've ever seen in sport.
When people start to buckle and fail, because they come under the pressure in the heat, that's when Tiger gets going. You could even see it at the PNC Championship, that's when Woods is really enjoying himself - when the pressure is at its greatest and it's all about competing.
Tiger said it himself that everything he does is ultra-competitive all the time, that's the way he is and that's what drives him. We're going to see him back out there doing it again.
If Tiger gets to the point where he tees it up in a tournament and he can compete, because he can do walking, then he knows and understands Augusta National more than any other player. Could he win another Masters again, if he can get his leg where he wants it to be? Absolutely he can.
The Masters probably comes a bit too quickly for him, because it's quite demanding as a walk, but maybe in 2023? I still certainly see him playing in the summer at St Andrews, because it's pretty flat, but we may have to wait until the year after to see him back at Augusta.
The talent is scary, with young Charlie Woods just an incredible prospect. We saw, just like when they played together last year, how similar they are with the club twirl, the pace of the swing and how quickly they pick the tee up. Charlie really is a mini-me!
If you're growing up with someone day in, day out, and you need to work out how to behave on the golf course and be a killer golfer, then there's no better example for a guy like Charlie than his dad.
The shot Charlie hit at the 17th on Sunday was just amazing. The breeze was off the left and the pin was tight left, yet he fades it to start at the edge of the water line and drift it back to inside three feet. His talent is off the scale.
He's only 12, so we're going to have to wait a few years before he starts thinking about what he wants to do, but one thing is for certain is that he will not have an ordinary life.
