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      Tiger Woods Injured in Serious Car Accident

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      AdvertisementContinue reading the main storySupported byContinue reading the main storyTiger Woods Injured in Serious Car AccidentThe greatest golfer of his generation sustained leg injuries that, along with a back surgery in January, could raise questions about the future of his career.Tiger Woods in the Masters Tournament in November.Credit…Doug Mills/The New York TimesFeb. 23, 2021Updated 9:33 p.m. ETFor Tiger Woods, it was a resounding comeback. After a back injury that had seemed destined to end his career, he won the Masters Tournament in 2019, a thrilling return to form that captivated the nation.But after a year of fits and starts that yielded no major victories, he announced last month that he had undergone another spinal procedure that would keep him out of competition until later this year.Then came the single-vehicle accident on Tuesday in which his S.U.V. ran off the road and landed on a hillside near Los Angeles, causing leg injuries that required Mr. Woods to undergo hours of surgery.It was another devastating episode for Mr. Woods — who burst onto the national scene as a child and is the greatest golfer of his generation — and raises questions about his ability to make yet another comeback.In recent years, Mr. Woods, who has won 15 major championships, second in the sport’s history to Jack Nicklaus’s 18, has talked extensively about the limitations his previous surgeries and injuries have caused.They have severely reduced the amount of time he can practice and have often disrupted the flow and power of a once revered golf swing. For several of the past few seasons, Mr. Woods could be seen wincing after every few shots, and he frequently struggled to retrieve his golf ball from the cup after completing a hole.His accident incited an outpouring across sports and beyond.On Twitter, Mr. Nicklaus wrote of his and his wife’s anguish. “Barbara and I just heard about Tiger’s accident, and like everyone else, we are deeply concerned,’’ Mr. Nicklaus’s post said. “We want to offer him our heartfelt support and prayers at this difficult time. Please join us in wishing Tiger a successful surgery and all the best for a full recovery.”Justin Thomas, a trusted confidant of Mr. Woods who frequently joins him for pretournament practice rounds, appeared stunned by the news.“I’m sick to my stomach,” Mr. Thomas said as he prepared for the Workday Championship, a PGA Tour event in Central Florida set to begin Thursday. “It hurts to see one of your closest friends get in an accident. I just hope he’s all right. I’m just worried for his kids, I’m sure they’re struggling.”Mr. Woods’s S.U.V. being towed after the crash.Credit…Allison Zaucha for The New York TimesThe incident happened about 7 a.m. Pacific time near the border of Rolling Hills Estates and Rancho Palos Verdes, a coastal Los Angeles suburb, on a twisting and winding stretch where the speed limit is 45 m.p.h. Two days earlier, Mr. Woods had hosted a PGA Tour event at the Riviera Country Club in Los Angeles and stayed to tape a promotional spot for Golf Digest.Mr. Woods was traveling at a “greater speed than normal” but did not seem impaired, Alex Villanueva, the Los Angeles County sheriff, said at a news conference, adding that “there was no effort to draw blood, for example, at the hospital.”Mr. Woods lost control of the vehicle on Hawthorne Boulevard, hitting a curb and a tree before rolling several times, the sheriff said.“That area has a high frequency of accidents,” Mr. Villanueva said. “It’s not uncommon.”With 82 PGA Tour victories, Mr. Woods is tied for the most ever with Sam Snead.But Mr. Woods has been hobbled by injuries in recent years. He has had five major back operations and three knee operations, which have derailed his ability to compete for years at a time. His injuries in the car accident would seem to create a substantial obstacle to returning to full form, a prospect already in question ahead of the Masters in April.In 2009, at the height of a career in which Mr. Woods was expected to demolish every record in his sport, news reports about serial marital infidelity cost him his marriage, and he was shunned by many in the golf community. In swift succession, his myriad corporate sponsors dropped him. The scandal caused him to take a lengthy hiatus from golf. When he returned to competition, he struggled to find his old form, a complication that coincided with the onset of his physical ailments.On the same golf courses where he had long been greeted by wild cheering, his presence was instead met with an eerie quiet. As time passed, being snubbed was far from Mr. Woods’s only problem at tournaments. He was often viewed as a limping afterthought. A young breed of golfers now controlled the top of the leaderboard.His downfall eventually had a defining act, a middle-of-the-night arrest in May 2017 that revealed an opioid addiction. Mr. Woods was taken into custody by the police after he was found alone and asleep in his car on the side of a road with the engine running.Typical of his career arc, Mr. Woods’s resurrection ended up being as dramatic and attention grabbing.At the 2019 Masters, golf’s most watched event, Mr. Woods was not one of the pretournament favorites to win, but he became a final-round contender. In the crucible of the event’s final holes, as his rivals withered under the pressure, Mr. Woods found the inner resolve that had been his trademark. He birdied four of the final five holes to claim his fifth Masters title. When his final putt dropped, he celebrated with a primal scream that seemed to be matched by the thousands of fans encircling the 18th green.Mr. Woods after his win at the 2019 Masters.Credit…Doug Mills/The New York TimesJust two years earlier, Mr. Woods had ranked as low as 1,119th in the world. His comeback, especially considering his travails off the course, may have been the greatest in sports history.Leaving the green, Mr. Woods lifted his son, Charlie, and his daughter, Sam, into his arms — a gesture that was a near repeat of the embrace Mr. Woods’s father, Earl, had given his son after the 1997 Masters, Mr. Woods’s first major victory.He continued to be competitive with his peers in 2019, winning one more event, but the pandemic-shortened 2020 golf season took place with Mr. Woods often absent. Other than a tie for ninth in mid-January, he did not finish higher than a tie for 37th and appeared in just 10 events.Mr. Woods has not played competitively since December. In January, he underwent a procedure on his back called a microdiscectomy, which was performed to remove a pressurized disc fragment that was pinching a nerve. On Sunday, while acting as the host of the Genesis Invitational PGA Tour event in Southern California, Mr. Woods was interviewed during the broadcast of the tournament. He said he had begun practicing and appeared at ease, smiling and joking with CBS announcers about his progress from the recent operation. But he offered no timetable for his return to competitive golf.The Masters, though, remained central on Mr. Woods’s calendar. Asked whether he would compete in the event in April, Mr. Woods replied: “God, I hope so. I’ve got to get there first.” He added that he was “feeling fine, a little bit stiff” and was awaiting another M.R.I. scan to evaluate his progress. In the meantime, he said, he had been “still doing the mundane stuff that you have to do for rehab, the little things before you can start gravitating toward something a little more.”Mr. Woods conceded that surgeons may have only so many more ways to help him. “This is the only back I’ve got,” he said. “I don’t have much more wiggle room there.”Mr. Woods slipped his cap down as he finished the 10th hole as the sun set during Round 2 at the 2020 Masters.Credit…Doug Mills/The New York TimesAt the pandemic-delayed Masters in November, Mr. Woods tied for 38th place. In the wake of the final round of the event, he said of his physical infirmities: “No matter how hard I try, things just don’t work the way they used to. And no matter how much I push and ask of this body, it just doesn’t work at times.”At the Rolling Hills Country Club near Los Angeles on Monday, pictures on social media showed Mr. Woods interacting with various celebrities, including the former N.B.A. player Dwyane Wade. During the function, Mr. Woods gave players golf tips and some instruction but was not swinging a golf club.Douglas Morino, Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs, Alan Blinder, Kevin Draper and Gillian R. Brassil contributed reporting.AdvertisementContinue reading the main story More

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      Tiger Woods was conscious and talking after the crash, the authorities said.

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      AdvertisementContinue reading the main storyTiger Woods Live Updates and Video: Golfer Hospitalized After Car CrashTiger Woods was conscious and talking after the crash, the authorities said.Feb. 23, 2021, 3:10 p.m. ETFeb. 23, 2021, 3:10 p.m. ETNicholas Bogel-Burroughs, Bill Pennington and Tiger Woods was taken to a hospital on Tuesday after being injured in a car crash in Los Angeles County.CreditCredit…Allison Zaucha for The New York TimesTiger Woods sustained serious leg injuries on Tuesday after the luxury S.U.V. he was driving struck the median of a road in Los Angeles County, crossed over into the opposite lane of traffic and rolled over several times before coming to a stop in a grassy area several hundred feet from where he had been driving, the authorities said.Emergency workers rushed to the scene just after 7 a.m. Pacific time and took Woods, 45, to the closest trauma center, where the golfer’s manager said he had gone into surgery. The authorities said that Woods was in serious but stable condition at Harbor-U.C.L.A. Medical Center, and that his injuries did not appear to be life-threatening. Daryl L. Osby, the chief of the Los Angeles County Fire Department, said on CNN that Woods had “broken bones in both his legs.”Woods was conscious and able to speak to deputies when they arrived, giving them his name and appearing “lucid and calm,” said Deputy Carlos Gonzalez, who was the first officer on the scene. Woods was not able to stand on his own because of his injuries, Deputy Gonzalez said.Woods was driving near the border of Rolling Hills Estates and Rancho Palos Verdes and was heading downhill along a road where people often drive over the 45 m.p.h. speed limit, Sheriff Alex Villanueva of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said at a news conference.Sheriff Villanueva said only that Woods appeared to be driving at a “greater speed than normal” and that he did not seem to be impaired by drugs or alcohol. He added that because Woods did not seem impaired, “there was no effort to draw blood, for example, at the hospital.”The sheriff said it was not yet clear what had caused the crash. No other vehicles were struck, and there were no skid marks at the scene, he said.Mark Steinberg, Woods’s longtime agent, said in a statement around noon that the golfer was “currently in surgery,” adding: “We thank you for your privacy and support.”Tiger Woods teeing off at last year’s Masters Tournament, in November.Credit…Doug Mills/The New York TimesDeputy Gonzalez said that when he arrived on the scene, Woods did not initially appear to be too worried about his injuries, which the officer said was common with crashes when people are in shock. He said that Woods was wearing his seatbelt and that the airbags on his S.U.V. deployed.“He told me his name was Tiger, and at that moment, I immediately recognized him,” Deputy Gonzalez said at the news conference.Woods was driving a Genesis S.U.V., which is made by Hyundai’s luxury division. Last weekend, he hosted a PGA Tour event at Riviera Country Club in Southern California, the Genesis Invitational, which is sponsored by the car division. Riviera is where he made his PGA Tour debut in 1992.Woods’s vehicle was traveling north on Hawthorne Boulevard at the intersection of Blackhorse Road when it crashed, striking a “Welcome to Rolling Hills Estates” sign and hitting a tree as it rolled over, Villanueva said.Video from local television stations showed Woods’s vehicle on its side in an open, grassy area, with its hood crumpled and its windshield broken.The Sheriff’s Department initially said Woods had been removed from the vehicle with hydraulic tools collectively known as “Jaws of Life,” but fire officials later said that the tools were not used. Osby, the fire chief, said rescuers had used an ax, among other tools, to get Woods out of the S.U.V.Tiger Woods, who sustained serious leg injuries after crashing his S.U.V. on Tuesday in Los Angeles County, was conscious when emergency workers arrived, the authorities said.CreditCredit…Allison Zaucha for The New York TimesChief Osby said that Woods had been placed on a seat with a backboard as a standard precaution after serious crashes, in case of possible spinal injuries.Woods has not played competitively since December, and he had his fifth back operation in January, a procedure called a microdiscectomy, to remove a pressurized disc fragment that was pinching a nerve. Interviewed on the broadcast of the Genesis Invitational, Woods said he had begun practicing again, and he appeared at ease, smiling and joking with CBS announcers about his progress from the surgery. But he offered no timetable for his return to competitive golf.He said only that he had hoped to resume playing by the Masters Tournament, which is held in the first full week of April.On Monday, at an event at the Rolling Hills Country Club near Los Angeles, pictures on social media showed Woods happily interacting with various celebrities, including the N.B.A. player Dwyane Wade. During the function, Woods gave golf tips and limited instruction but was not swinging a golf club.AdvertisementContinue reading the main story More

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      Tributes Pour in for Tiger Woods Wishing Him a Speedy Recovery

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      AdvertisementContinue reading the main storyTiger Woods Live Updates and Video: Golfer Hospitalized After Car Crash‘We know how tough you are’: Tributes pour in for Woods.Feb. 23, 2021, 5:25 p.m. ETFeb. 23, 2021, 5:25 p.m. ETJohnny Diaz and Tiger Woods watching from the 18th hole at the Genesis Invitational tournament on Sunday in Southern California. Woods was the host of the event, but he could not play because of his recent back operation.Credit…Ryan Kang/Associated PressAs news spread that Tiger Woods was seriously injured in a crash on Tuesday in California, fans, fellow athletes, celebrities and politicians offered tributes and prayers for the golf superstar.The former New York Yankees player Alex Rodriguez said he was “praying for my brother” and “thinking of him and his entire family.”Stephen Curry, a three-time N.B.A. champion, also said he was praying for Woods and his family. Lindsey Vonn, the Olympic gold medalist skier who had dated Woods, shared a similar message for the athlete. And the basketball legend Magic Johnson asked that people pray for Woods.Michael Phelps, the Olympic gold medalist swimmer, and Mike Tyson, the former heavyweight boxing champion, offered their sentiments as well.“Fight @tigerwoods like the champion you are for your kids and the world,” Tyson said on Twitter.The actress Jada Pinkett Smith, who called Woods the GOAT (greatest of all time), said she had been with him on Monday.“Don’t take not even a MOMENT for granted!” she said on Twitter. “I know you’re good because your Tiger within is a beast!!!”Fellow golfers recalled Woods’s strength and resilience.“We know how tough you are, we’ve seen it a hundred times,” the golfer Justin Rose said on Twitter.On ESPN’s “SportsCenter,” Justin Thomas, another professional golfer, said he was “sick to his stomach” after hearing about the crash of one of his closest friends. “Man, I just hope he’s all right,” he added.Jack Nicklaus, who won 18 major titles, said that he and his wife, Barbara, were “deeply concerned” about Woods and wished him a successful surgery and full recovery. Woods is second on the career list with 15 major victories.Former President Donald J. Trump, who awarded Woods the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2019, phoned in to Fox News on Tuesday night to pay tribute to Woods, whom he called “an incredible guy.”“He’s going to be back,” Mr. Trump said. “I have no doubt about, he’s going to be back.”AdvertisementContinue reading the main story More

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      Tiger Woods's Past Was Examined in Recent HBO Documentary

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      AdvertisementContinue reading the main storyTiger Woods Live Updates and Video: Golfer Hospitalized After Car CrashWoods’s complicated past was put under a microscope in a recent documentary.Feb. 23, 2021, 5:30 p.m. ETFeb. 23, 2021, 5:30 p.m. ETMargaret Lyons and [embedded content]Tiger Woods was the subject of a recent two-part documentary on HBO called “Tiger,” which chronicles the golfer’s intense relationship with his father and especially the ways the elder Woods shaped his son’s understanding of sex and masculinity. The documentary was based on a book, “Tiger Woods,” by Armen Keteyian and Jeff Benedict.“Tiger” depicts the relentless scrutiny focused on Woods, particularly though not exclusively from tabloid media, and the tensions of a celebrity culture that can be both wildly permissive and swiftly judgmental. A number of golfers, former caddies and friends participated in the documentary, but perhaps the most revealing sources were two women who were involved with Woods at very different times in his life: Dina Parr, who dated Woods in high school, and Rachel Uchitel, who had an affair with Woods in 2009.While archival footage of Woods features heavily, he declined to participate in the documentary, and his longtime agent, Mark Steinberg, released a statement blasting it. “Just like the book it is based off of, the upcoming HBO documentary is just another unauthorized and salacious outsider attempt to paint an incomplete portrait of one of the greatest athletes of all-time,” Steinberg said.The first part of the documentary, which was released in January and is streaming on HBO Max, was HBO’s most watched sports documentary in almost three years.AdvertisementContinue reading the main story More

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      Justin Thomas on Woods's Accident: ‘I’m Sick to my Stomach'

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      AdvertisementContinue reading the main storyTiger Woods Live Updates and Video: Golfer Hospitalized After Car Crash‘I’m sick to my stomach,’ Woods’s friend Justin Thomas said.Feb. 23, 2021, 4:22 p.m. ETFeb. 23, 2021, 4:22 p.m. ETJustin Thomas, left, and Tiger Woods during the first round of the PNC Championship golf tournament last year.Credit…Phelan M. Ebenhack/Associated PressJustin Thomas, a trusted confidant of Tiger Woods who frequently joins Woods for pretournament practice rounds, appeared stunned by the news of Woods’s accident on Tuesday.“I’m sick to my stomach,” Thomas said as he prepared for the Workday Championship, a PGA Tour event in Central Florida set to begin Thursday. “It hurts to see one of your closest friends get in an accident.”Thomas said he had heard about Woods’s crash only minutes earlier.”I’m sick to my stomach.” Justin Thomas reacts to the news of Tiger Woods being injured after a single-car crash. pic.twitter.com/RMXKLfSi9N— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) February 23, 2021
      “Man, I just hope he’s all right,” he said. “I’m just worried for his kids, I’m sure they’re struggling.”Thomas and his father, Mike, were paired with Woods and his son, Charlie, during the PNC Championship, a father and son tournament in December. Woods also has a daughter, Sam.AdvertisementContinue reading the main story More

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      Tiger Woods Announces He Had a Fifth Back Operation

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      AdvertisementContinue reading the main storySupported byContinue reading the main storyTiger Woods Announces He Had a Fifth Back OperationWoods, 45, expects to miss at least the first two months of the year on the PGA Tour.Tiger Woods at the PNC Championship last month. He said in a social media post Tuesday that he had experienced discomfort during the tournament.Credit…Phelan M. Ebenhack/Associated PressJan. 19, 2021Updated 9:18 p.m. ETTiger Woods, whose transcendent golf career nearly ended prematurely because of multiple back operations, has undergone another procedure on his spine.Woods, a 15-time major champion, announced Tuesday on social media that he recently had his fifth back operation in the past seven years and indicated that he did not expect to return to the PGA Tour before March.The operation was his fourth microdiscetomy and his first back surgery since a spinal fusion in April 2017 that allowed him to make a triumphant comeback to the game he had long dominated.pic.twitter.com/YD0IQbF2K4— Tiger Woods (@TigerWoods) January 19, 2021
      Woods, 45, said he would miss two events near his childhood home in Southern California — the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines in the final week of January, and the Genesis Invitational at Riviera Country Club starting Feb. 18. He is the honorary host of the Genesis Invitational.Woods said he started feeling discomfort after the PNC Championship in December, when he laughed his way around the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club in Orlando, Fla., as he played alongside his 11-year-old son, Charlie.According to the social media post, his recent procedure removed a pressurized disc fragment that was pinching a nerve. The doctors deemed the surgery a success, according to the post, which also said Woods was expected to make a full recovery.“I look forward to begin training and am focused on getting back out on Tour,” Woods said in the statement.According to Kevin McGuire, the section chief for the Center for Pain and Spine at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in New Hampshire, Woods probably had what is called “adjacent segment disease,” which occurs when nearby discs deteriorate as they compensate for limitations at the fusion site.“Professional athletes are different human beings, in my opinion, than the rest of us mortals,” said McGuire, who was not involved in Woods’s treatment. “If the rest of us swung the golf club as many times as Tiger Woods did, most of us would get hurt, get injured, or have back problems. So professional athletes tend to come back fast — or, do come back faster.”Woods has contended with unpredictable back pain over the years, and his 2020 starts yielded just one top-10 finish, a tie for ninth in January at the Farmers Insurance Open. In mid-February of 2020, he became stiff and repeatedly grimaced throughout the final two rounds of the Genesis Invitational, where he shot an 11 over par and finished last among the golfers who made the cut.In the six majors he has played since his 2019 Masters victory, he has missed the cut three times, tied for 21st, tied for 37th and tied for 38th.In August 2019 Woods had a fifth arthroscopic procedure done on his left knee. Woods returned three months later in Japan and claimed his 82nd career victory, tying him atop the career PGA Tour wins list with Sam Snead.Because of the coronavirus pandemic, Woods had to wait until November to try to defend his Masters title. But he struggled trudging up and down the wet Georgia hills, the physical toll exacerbated by rain and limited autumn sunlight, which meant compressed tee times and little time for rest and recuperation. Woods finished tied for 38th, 19 shots behind the winner, Dustin Johnson.“No matter how much I push and ask of this body, it just doesn’t work at times,” Woods told reporters then.But Woods has become accustomed to making comebacks.“The classic line I give a lot of my patients is: ‘If you really enjoy something, go for quality rather than quantity,’” McGuire said.AdvertisementContinue reading the main story More

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      Tiger Woods Mixes Golf and Family Once Again

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      AdvertisementContinue reading the main storySupported byContinue reading the main storyTiger Woods Mixes Golf and Family Once AgainNormally Woods tries to keep his private life separate from his career, but playing with his son Charlie in the PNC Championship was an emotional father-son bonding moment.“I’m just making sure Charlie has the time of his life,” Tiger Woods said Saturday, referring to his 11-year-old son. Credit…Mike Ehrmann/Getty ImagesDec. 20, 2020Updated 5:38 p.m. ETORLANDO, Fla. — As he does with the accessories in his golf bag, Tiger Woods neatly arranges his life in tidy compartments. His life as a high-profile golfer goes in one slot, his family goes in another and, like his favored chunky peanut butter and banana sandwiches and the rest of his luggage, he’d prefer to keep it all separated.When Woods made an exception this week, teaming up with his 11-year-old son, Charlie, at the PNC Championship, the results were perhaps predictably distinct.Charlie had a blast and Woods was a nervous wreck.The dynamic duo, as they were described by breathless television announcers, finished seventh at 20-under, five strokes behind the winning team of Justin Thomas and his father, Mike, who were grouped with the Woodses in the first round.But as far as Tiger Woods was concerned, this was one event where success was all about the details, not the digits.“I’m just making sure Charlie has the time of his life,” he said on Saturday.Woods’s father, Earl, who died in 2006, possessed a pride in his child’s precociousness with a golf club that led to Woods, 44, making his first television appearances and submitting to his first interviews before he started kindergarten.Because of Woods’s accomplishments, which include 15 major titles, Charlie has also grown up in the spotlight, widely photographed and gawked at since birth. Over the past year, as his interests have shifted from soccer to golf, his swing has been scrutinized on the internet as if it contained the meaning of life.“This is a different world that we live in now,” Woods conceded. “Everyone has a phone, everyone has an opportunity to video, he’s been out there.”But it’s one thing to exist in a fishbowl and quite another to be dropped into the shark tank of a 36-hole televised competition featuring 20 teams in which major winners or Players champions are paired with family members in a scramble format.With Tiger and his cub in the mix, the low-key event became a major production, eclipsing the L.P.G.A.’s tour championship, held roughly 200 miles — and a distant universe of hype — away and won by the women’s world No. 1, Jin Young Ko. More than 200 people and multiple television cameras were gathered around the first tee to watch Charlie’s opening shot Saturday.Charlie Woods, playing from forward tees set up for him and octogenarians Gary Player and Lee Trevino, split the fairway with most of his drives and often placed his approaches inside his father’s efforts.Credit…Phelan M. Ebenhack/Associated Press“A lot of people are trying to use him to build up, or write or talk about things,” Woods said. “Just making sure he’s able to have fun playing the game of golf.”Woods insisted that Charlie be excused from media interviews throughout the week. When he met with reporters, Tiger Woods’s usual facility with words escaped him. Many of his thoughts trailed off.“I’m trying to make sure Charlie has the right environment, that he’s sheltered and away from this,” Woods said Saturday while addressing a small group of reporters. “I do all of this so he can practice and play and enjoy the golf side of it.”On one hole during the first round, Woods spoke with Justin Thomas about how excruciating it was to want so badly for Charlie to play well but to be helpless to do anything but watch.Tiger Woods need not have fretted. Charlie, playing from forward tees set up for him and the octogenarians Gary Player, 85, and Lee Trevino, 81, split the fairway with most of his drives and often placed his approaches inside his father’s efforts.The opening round featured Charlie’s first-ever eagle on a par-5, which he took in stride until his excited dad squeezed a bashful smile out of him with a bear hug.“He hit some of the most incredible golf shots,” Woods said.In introducing the golf world to his son, Woods revealed the man behind the golfing machine. Woods, an 82-time PGA Tour winner who says he competes to win, repeatedly used the word “perfect” on Saturday to describe a round that ended with the Woodses trailing by four strokes.Woods can bore holes in his competitors’ games with a glare, but a few times over the weekend his eyes pooled with emotion as he talked about the father-and-son bonding opportunity the tournament provided.From his mannerisms to his mechanics, Charlie came across as a miniature version of his father. He seemed comfortable in the company of adults and well-schooled in golf’s etiquette, walking to every tee box with the club he was going to use in one hand and his teed ball in the other. He stayed out of the way when it wasn’t his turn and wasted no time hitting once over the ball.Tiger Woods, who said he constantly emphasizes having fun on the course and being “respectful,” beamed at the mention of Charlie’s good manners and said he had to share any credit with his ex-wife, Elin Nordegren, who showed up Sunday with their daughter Sam to watch Charlie play.Neither Thomas nor Woods expressed surprise at the quality shots that Charlie consistently produced. They’d seen them all when they practiced and played alongside him during the months when the tour was shut down because of the coronavirus pandemic.“I knew he was going to wow a lot of people,” Thomas said, adding, “The kid’s a gamer, he’s a grinder, he’s competitive.”Every afternoon when he was finished playing 18 holes, Charlie made a beeline for the range to hit more balls. During one post-round session, the children of another major winner were on the range not far from him. As they twirled and tossed their clubs like they were batons and cried out to get their parents’ attention, Charlie was a few yards away, quietly and methodically working his way through a bag of balls.The retired L.P.G.A. star Annika Sorenstam, a 10-time major winner, noticed that her 9-year-old son seemed enamored of Charlie and more enthusiastic about the game after watching him play.“When you see somebody your age and your size do what Charlie’s doing, it’s a little more inspiring to see what you can do,” Sorenstam said.Trevino crossed paths with Woods before the first round. “Now you know how your father felt,” he said he told him.Woods’s voice grew thick. “It’s unbelievable,” he replied.AdvertisementContinue reading the main story More

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      Watching Tiger Woods Play an Often-Hidden Role: Dad

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      AdvertisementContinue reading the main storySupported byContinue reading the main storyTiger Woods, Playing Partner and ParentWatching Woods and his son, Charlie, on the golf course offers a rare window into a side of Woods fans never see: dad.Tiger Woods, right, and his son, Charlie, will play in a televised father-son event this weekend.Credit…Phelan M. Ebenhack/Associated PressDec. 18, 2020ORLANDO, Fla. — The kid, like others of his generation, had never seen Tiger Woods win a major. He had no clue how cool golf could be.And then his father unexpectedly won the 2019 Masters. That’s when the game got a hold on Woods’s son, Charlie, 11, almost as soon as Woods swept him up in his arms behind Augusta National Golf Club’s 18th green.“It was casual before then,” Woods’s caddie, Joe LaCava said, referring to Charlie’s interest in golf. “Now it’s intense — in a good way.”Charlie Woods’s deeper embrace of golf has afforded the public a rare view this weekend of another side of his famous father, one that Tiger Woods usually chooses to keep out of sight of the prying public: the devoted dad.Woods, 44, and his son will make their debut Saturday in the PNC Championship, a 36-hole best-ball format featuring 20 teams of prominent past champions and their family members. On a chilly Thursday at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club at Grande Lakes, where the tournament is taking place, the Woodses warmed up with an 18-hole pro-am that was memorable for Charlie’s approach-shot darts and Woods’s paternal pride.“It’s so much fun for me to see him enjoying the game,” Woods said. “That’s the whole idea. Enjoy hitting shots and creating those shots.”Golf has come full circle for Woods, who forged a deep connection with his father, Earl, through the game. As Earl did with Tiger, Woods exposed Charlie to the game early. At 6, Charlie had a swing that Woods said he envied.Charlie moves his neck to work out the cricks the way his father does. He shakes his water bottle, minus the added electrolyte powders, just like his father. He stuffs his hands in his pockets when he is cold like his father. And when he is playing with his father at home, he reacts to good shots just like he does, by twirling his club.But Charlie is not a sawed-down version of Woods. Unlike his father, who competed in a putting contest with Bob Hope on “The Mike Douglas Show” when he was a toddler and had been profiled in Golf Digest and Ebony magazine by the time he was 6, Charlie has had a much more low-key childhood.He dabbled in golf but initially seemed more interested, as is his older sister, Sam, in soccer. That was fine by Woods, who said Thursday, “Whatever he decides to do, as long as he has a passion for it, I’m happy.”Until this week, his children have made infrequent appearances in the glare of his spotlight. Sam, 13, hadn’t planned on attending the final round of the 2019 Masters, showing up only after her club soccer team failed to advance to a tournament final scheduled for the same day, and Woods said that Charlie came only because his sister was there.After he won, Woods said, they spent the short flight home fighting over who got to wear the green jacket. He was gratified by their enthusiasm.Woods has spoken often of how he thought his children were reluctant to commit to golf because they associated the sport with the pain it has caused him, not just his physical struggles but perhaps also his arrest with painkillers in his system in 2017 after a risky back surgery. The operation had been undertaken, Woods said at the time, to improve his quality of life with his children, not prolong his career, which he thought was over.Woods’s voice and expressions always soften when he speaks of his children. They are the one topic that can reliably engender a smile that reaches his eyes.“So excited that we’re able to have these moments,” he said Thursday.“My dad never coached me,” Tiger Woods said. “It was all about feels and being there, being present, being with me. He did that and I’m doing it the same way with Charlie.”Credit…Phelan M. Ebenhack/Associated PressTo watch Woods and his son on the golf course is to be granted a porthole into Woods’s parenting. Tournament officials have added forward tee boxes to accommodate Charlie, the youngest competitor in the tournament’s history. On the ninth hole, Woods stood behind Charlie, saying nothing until after he had hit an errant drive and looked imploringly at his father, who pointed out that the hitting strip was on a slight slope so he had to adjust his setup to account for that.“My dad never coached me,” Woods said. “It was all about feels and being there, being present, being with me. He did that and I’m doing it the same way with Charlie.”On the same hole, Woods’s son asked him why he had used his 9-iron for a 113-yard approach. Woods explained that it was cold and windy so he decided to go with that club and take a little off his swing.“He picks up on everything,” LaCava said. “He doesn’t just say, ‘Good shot, dad.’”To watch Woods and his son on the golf course is to be granted a porthole into Woods’s parenting.Credit…Phelan M. Ebenhack/Associated PressWoods and his son played each nine with a different set of amateurs. At the ninth and 18th holes, Charlie took off his billed cap to shake hands with his playing partners. He was polite and attentive and seemed unfazed by all the adults, including a few with their small children in tow, who cheered his every shot.“It’s so cool for me to see him enjoy the sport and feeling the shots and hitting it as solid as he is hitting it,” Woods said.As the lead producer of NBC’s golf coverage, Tommy Roy has grown accustomed to seeing Woods on the 120 screens he monitors during a telecast. But playing the first nine Thursday in the same group as Woods, Roy saw him from a new angle.“It’s really cool, I have to say, to see him as a dad,” Roy said.Whether Woods was standing behind his son studying his form and the flight of his ball or leaning down to answer a question, the result was the same. Woods described them as “bonding moments.”Rory McIlroy and Justin Thomas, younger stars who have gotten to know Woods well over the past few years, each described him as a great father. But until this week, people drawn to Woods, the performer, had no idea really what he looked like as a parent.On every hole, after the group putted out, Woods stuck a tee in the ground and engaged Charlie in contests to see whose putt or chip came closest to it. On the 18th hole, as Woods and his son walked side by side down the fairway, pulling roughly two dozen spectators along, one man in the crowd turned to another and said, “I’m not even a big fan, but I’m enjoying this. It’s pretty cool.”AdvertisementContinue reading the main story More