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What to expect from Tiger Woods when he returns to golf.
Tiger Woods will be playing in a tournament with his son, as Dan Murphy details the next steps in his recovery. 2 minutes later.
4:13 PM
Tiger Woods and his son, Charlie, will be playing with the Thomas family during the opening round of the PNC Championship on Saturday.
They did it during the first round a year ago, and they are neighbors in South Florida.
The older Thomas, a former club pro and still a teacher to his son, said that he played with Woods recently.
"It's crazy how good he's hitting it and how far he's hitting, for what he's been through," said Mike Thomas.
That should add more juice to the event, which is normally a low-key, off-season golf event for major champions and their family members.
Since he and Charlie tied for seventh at the same tournament a year ago, Woods will play competitive golf for the first time in a year.
A car crash in February left Woods immobile for months and left him hospitalized for weeks. He emerged recently to show the progress he has made, which includes playing golf with his son, something that seemed unimaginable after the accident.
"My excitement level is high for him being out here and being somewhere other than his house and getting to see a lot of familiar faces," said Justin Thomas, a 14-time PGA Tour winner who has probably spent more time with Woods in the past several months than any other player.
Spending time with Charlie is something that is very important to him. He's excited for that part.
I think his expectations are low. He is who he is for a reason, so I'm sure he will be angry if he doesn't play well.
Woods tried to keep the expectations down during his news conference at the Hero World Challenge. He joked about how far he was hitting the ball, but warned that he was a long way from playing competitive tour golf.
He acknowledged that "hit and giggle" golf might be in his future, and so he is at the PNC with a Friday morning pro-am time a first real opportunity for the world to get a glimpse of his game.
"We all know that he's never going to admit to being close to where he wants to be," Mike Thomas said. Where he would normally be compared to now. His shot is more important than anything. He has some speed. He has some length. A lot of flush shots. I was surprised.
A year ago, Charlie Woods stole the show, amazing those who watched with how similar his mannerisms were to those of his father, who has won 15 major championships.
The focus will once again be on Tiger.
Padraig Harrington said that it shows how Tiger's changed. Let's face it. Tiger was a great player. He was a professional. Nobody was allowed in. Nobody knew who Tiger was. He's a completely different person now that he's a parent. He has changed. He wants to have that experience with his son, so he won't be playing golf at this point. You realize there's more to life as you get older. Your family is the center of your life. It's clear with Tiger that's the case.
He would do anything for his son. Tiger doesn't need to play golf this week. If this wasn't on, you wouldn't see him for at least three or four more months.
Regardless of how Woods plays, the speculation as to when he will return is bound to be endless. Can he come back in time for the Masters? Is the Open at St. Andrew more likely? Is he going to play in 2022.
He would play any other public golf, but the PNC is more subdued. There are just 36 holes. He can use a golf cart. The format is a scramble, which means both players hit a tee shot, play from the best one and then play from there until the hole is completed.
With a large advance from the junior tees last year, Charlie often hit drives well into play that meant his famous dad didn't even need to bother. Given his situation, it will be interesting to see how often Tiger hits a driver.
Some days he's like, "Oh, wow, I can do this,' and other days he's like, "Oh, I'm not really sure." This week is very impressive and unbelievable.
I know that he wanted to come back here.
