ORLANDO, Fla. — Tiger Woods did his best again Friday to downplay expectations surrounding his return to golf, but even he can’t help himself once in a while.
So it was that he flashed a bit of anger at a tee shot he hit off the toe on the ninth hole during the pro-am for the PNC Championship. The ball flight was less than pleasing, and Woods snatched his tee out of the ground in disgust.
Only to have his 12-year-old son, Charlie, mock him: “Nice shot.”
Tiger fired that tee at Charlie’s back, everyone laughed, and the round at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club continued with Woods remarkably even being in this position just less than 10 months following a horrific car crash that severely damaged his right leg and foot.
“It was an awesome day,” said Woods, who admitted he was nervous about hitting shots with spectators watching for fear of hitting them. “It was just awesome to be back out here playing. To be out here with my son. We had an absolute blast.”
It was a year ago at this same tournament where Woods last played any competitive golf. He teamed with Charlie to tie for seventh in the event that has 20 teams, with one player required to be a major champion, paired with a family member.
Charlie stole the show a year ago and impressed with his game and the mannerisms that looked so much like those of his dad.
Only a few days later, Woods had a fifth back procedure, and his status for the 2021 season was in doubt when he was involved in the crash that left him hospitalized for three weeks before a long rehab.
The fact he was hitting shots in a public setting with TV cameras rolling so soon after a debilitating crash was, in many ways, surprising to him, too.
“Yes and no,” Woods said. “If you would have asked me after those three months in the bed, [if] I would be here, I would have given you a different answer. But there are no days off. We worked every day. Even days where I didn’t feel very good, we still worked on something. So every day, there was never a…
Source : espn
