Tiger Woods swung the golf club as freely as he has in years, and he is once again in the hunt to win a golf tournament, this time alongside his son, Charlie.

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The Woods’ combined for an excellent -13 opening round of 59 to hold a share of the lead in the PGA Tour’s two-person, 36-hole parent/child scramble event, the PNC Championship in Florida.

It is the first time the Woods name has been a top of a leaderboard since the Zozo Championship in 2019, Tiger’s last PGA Tour victory.

Golf fans got a glimpse of the 15-time major champion’s return to swinging a club with a sneak peak video of him testing out the brand new TGL simulator earlier this month, and on Sunday morning Australian time, he proved that he is on track for the indoor golf league’s debut season as well as next year’s majors.

The 48-year-old played all four majors in 2024 but only made the cut at The Masters, where he finished 60th, as he struggled to walk the course, and swing freely, due to several back and leg issues.

In the build-up to the PNC Championship, Woods admitted that he was “very, very rusty” after having the sixth back surgery of his career in September, but NBC Sports commentator Dan Hicks was impressed with what he saw.

“This game that Tiger is building is the best we’ve seen (in years), I know it’s only the PNC Championship and he’s playing with his son. Tiger even calls it a hit and giggle. It’s not a big time, elite competition, but nevertheless,” Hicks said on commentary when Woods bombed a drive on the 15th tee.

“He’s putting on a pretty good show here.

“There’s no hesitation in his swing. No limp.”

Post-round, Hicks reiterated his comments.

“It’s been a very, very smooth opening round for Tiger. The best we’ve seen him physically in a long time,” he said.

It was Charlie who holed the majority of the Woods’ birdie putts, however, doing so seven times.

Playing in a group alongside 1997 British Open champion Justin Leonard and his son Luke, Tiger was forced to sit back and take the role of spectator at times as Charlie set up birdies.

The 15-year-old’s boasts impressive length of the tee but he also showed delicate touch around the greens.

His classy bunker shot to set up a tap-in birdie on the 13th was one of the highlights of the day.

“It’s another great day of family bonding. We had a great day out there with the Leonards,” Tiger said.

“Lenny goes to the same school as Sam and Charlie. We’ve all got to know each other over the years. To be out here in this environment, and to have fun like this, it doesn’t get any better.

When watching back their highlights post-round, Tiger quipped that he is “a great cheerleader” as a series of Charlie’s excellent shots and birdie putts were played.

He was also mightily impressed by his son’s development.

“Each and every year, he’s gotten bigger and stronger and better. He’s growing up in the game, and it’s fun to see the development over the years,” Tiger said.

“To be able to have these experiences with Charlie, and walk inside the ropes, normally the banter is against each other. Pretty much each and every day. This week is for each other, and we’re rooting so hard for each of us to pull of each shot that we want.”

The 20-team field includes the likes of 89-year-old nine-time major champion Gary Player, and his grandson Alexander Hall, ten-time women’s major champion Annika Sorenstam, and her son Will McGee, and current women’s world number one Nelly Korda, and her Australian Open winning, former tennis player father Petr.

But among so many of the sport’s great, it was John Daly’s antics on the range that created one of the moments of the day.

The two-time major champion, who holds the record for the lowest score in this event (-27) with his son John Daly II, hit one drive and said to the camera “that’s me done”.

“I’m good. I just popped everything,” he said with a chuckle.

The final round of the PNC Championship will be broadcast live on Fox Sports and Kayo from 3.30am to 8.3oam AEDT on Monday.