Tiger and Charlie Woods Are Both Limping, But Tiger Is the Bigger Concern
ORLANDO — The resemblance in their swings and mannerisms is uncanny, but Charlie Woods seemed to be taking it to another level Friday as he played the pro-am with his dad, Tiger, ahead of the PNC Championship while walking with a noticeable limp.
It seems the younger Woods, 13, who is playing in the tournament for the third straight year, tweaked his left ankle. In keeping with the Woods's low-key mantra on injuries, Tiger Woods would not disclose exactly what happened.
“Well, it’s better than mine, so,” the elder Woods said. “It’s just the way it goes. Just kind of bad timing on it. But we’ll be ready come game tomorrow.”
Woods, who turns 47 on Dec. 30, is dealing with his own well-known issues. He said he was diagnosed with plantar fasciitis, which kept him from playing in the Hero World Challenge two weeks ago. Doctors told him to rest.
“I can practice; I just can’t walk,” Woods said at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club, where the 36-hole event begins Saturday. “So when you’re dealing with the plantar like this, it’s one of these things where I need rest, and I haven’t exactly been doing that."
Woods said that he is following the various protocols—aside from the prescribed rest.
“I’m doing everything. I'm doing everything,’’ he said. “It's frustrating because each and every day I have to do it, and then on top of that it's trying to sleep in the damn boot, it's no fun. My left leg is bleeding sometimes because the boot hits it.
“It's just annoying. It's one of those things that, hey, I'm grateful to have this limb and it's mine. It's not some fake limb. It's mine. And, yes, there are some issues with it, but I still have it."
Woods competed in The Match last Saturday along with partner Rory McIlroy and lost to Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth over just 10 holes. Woods rode in a golf cart as he was doing Friday and will do again over the weekend.
In the 18-hole pro-am, Woods hit only select shots and sat out some holes completely. His back nine mostly consisted of chipping and putting. The plantar fasciitis is apparently bothering Woods in his right heel and is related to the injuries he suffered in a February 2021 car crash that led to multiple surgeries on his lower right leg, foot and ankle.
Since playing at the British Open in July, Woods was said to be making good improvement. He played numerous rounds of golf at his home course, The Medalist, and was shooting good scores while hitting the ball farther and with plenty of speed.
As the Hero World Challenge approached, Woods amped up his walking somewhere during that period and said the condition developed due to that process of doing too much.
Woods said there is a chance he could make the situation worse by playing and set back his recovery but “I really don’t care about that. I think being there with and alongside my son is far more important and to get to have a chance to have this experience with him is far better than my foot being a little creaky."
Tiger and Charlie finished second to John Daly and his son, John Jr., last year. Charlie has grown noticeably since then and Tiger said recently that Charlie had outdriven him for the first time on a hole where the elder Woods didn’t hit it quite as good as he would have liked.
This year, Charlie has been moved back a set of tees in the 20-team tournament that is for major championship winners and a family member. He will play the 7,100-yard course from approximately 6,400 yards.
As for Tiger, this will be the end of a busy three-week stretch that saw him host the Hero tournament—although not play—then compete in The Match and again here.
It came after a lengthy break following the Open at St. Andrews in July, where he missed the cut. He played in both the Masters and the PGA Championship prior to that, making the cut in both.
“It’s been a lot harder than people probably imagine,” said Woods, who said he had two undisclosed procedures this year. “There’s some of the players who are very close to me know what I've kind of gone through, and they’re the ones that keep encouraging me to back off a little bit.
“But that’s not really in my nature. My nature is trying to get better. And I have. And through work ethic, I was able to play and compete in three major championships this year.
“And this off season hasn't really been an off season. I’ve kind of ramped things up. But after this, come Monday, we shut it all down and take care of this foot so that I can ramp up properly.
"As you’ve seen, I can hit golf balls. I can do all that. I can practice at home. I can hit shots around the green. I just can’t get from point A to point B.”