[PHOTO: Andrew Redington]

Tiger Woods has committed to play in the PNC Championship with his son Charlie.

Woods didn’t compete at his Hero World Challenge last week in the Bahamas as he continued to recover from his latest surgery, a procedure on his back. It was Woods’ sixth back surgery that has been publicly acknowledged and the first since 2021. Woods missed most of the 2023 season after a subtalar fusion procedure to address post-traumatic arthritis from the injuries to his right foot suffered in a car accident in 2021. Woods turns 49 on December 30.

“I’m not tournament sharp yet. I’m still not there,” Woods said last Tuesday during a press conference at the Hero event. “These are 20 of the best players in the world, and I’m not sharp enough to compete against them at this level. So when I’m ready to compete and play at this level, then I will.”

However, it appears Woods is healthy enough to compete in the friendly confines of the PNC – a parent-child event that allows Woods to ride in a cart.

“I’m very excited to head back to the PNC Championship next week with Charlie,” Tiger said in a statement. “Playing together is something we look forward to and it’s always more special when you’re surrounded by friends and family.”

Earlier this year, the PGA Tour Policy Board approved an exemption that allows Woods entry into every signature event. How often Woods would be able to play, however, is the bigger question. Woods competed just five times in 2024, missing the cut in three appearances and withdrawing midway through the second round at his Genesis Invitational. Since winning the 2019 Masters, he has failed to finish inside the top 20 at a major and has either missed the cut or withdrawn in six of the past eight. He’s played four rounds of an official tournament just three times in the past four seasons. This is partly an upshot of the fact he hardly plays at all. The last time Woods teed it up at an event that wasn’t a major, the Genesis Invitational or a ‘silly season’ event was in mid-2020.

Charlie Woods is a high school sophomore in Florida. He made waves earlier this year when attempting to qualify for a PGA Tour event. His team recently finished runner-up in the state championship. This will be the fifth time Tiger and Charlie have competed at the PNC Championship. The two-day tournament begins on December 21 at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club in Orlando, Florida.