No wonder Tiger Woods jokingly refers to the PNC Championship as the fifth major.

Woods was together with 14-year-old son Charlie on Friday, their swings eerily similar and the encouraging words coming as only Woods can deliver them. They were warming up ahead of the pro-am, hitting flop shots, when Charlie hit one that was … well, let Woods explain.

“We’re ending on that one right there. That was nasty,” Woods said, repeating the second part with an extra word for emphasis.

Woods felt good enough to turn down a golf cart and walk 18 holes in a strong wind during the pro-am, which is not to suggest he is completely on the mend.

“I felt like I was physically fit to do it,” Woods said. “Also, walking is better for my back. I just wanted to keep it loose and keep it going, and we’re having so much it doesn’t really matter.”

Woods chose not to speak to media, wanting to avoid any queries about his place on the PGA Tour board as it negotiates commercial deals with the Saudi backer of LIV Golf — the deadline is about two weeks away — and a private investment group of powerful U.S. sports team owners.

This is the fourth year Woods is playing with Charlie. They were runner-up two years ago and while Woods repeatedly talks about “having a blast,” getting the Willie Park Trophy that goes to the winners would have its own place among some 100 wins worldwide.

Winning majors is unbelievable and how he’s won his majors,” Justin Thomas said. “But seeing how much he cares about Charlie and having (daughter) Sam out here and him doing that together with Charlie as he’s watching him grow up, it would a very, very different kind of win that doesn’t maybe come with the record books and history.”

The question is how much Charlie, whose high school team won the Class A state championship, carries the load.

He is not the little crumb-snatcher — a term Woods’ father affectionately used for him — that first played in the PNC Championship in 2020 at age 11. He is taller and stronger, with more speed in his swing and plenty of pop.

Charlie has been moved back a set of tees, just one in front of his father. He will be playing The Ritz-Carlton Club at 6,576 yards, the same set of tees used by Steve Stricker and Jim Furyk, and Nelly Korda from the LPGA Tour.

“I can’t quite give him as much brief anymore because he’s close to beating me up,” Thomas said. “It’s impressive from a golfer standpoint because he’s still a 14-year-old but maturing in the sense of his golf game, and he’s more willing to learn and he’s open to it all times.

“I’m just glad he keeps moving back tee markers. He’s leading the tournament in inches grown.”

He has a pretty good teacher in his father, even at this stage in his career.

The PNC Championship, which starts Friday, is only the fourth competition this year for Woods. He made the cut but didn’t finish the third round of the Masters, and then had ankle fusion surgery shortly thereafter.

Woods returned sooner than he expected at the Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas two weeks ago. He finished 18th in the 20-man field, and it was fair to speculate that he was using that to warm up for the big one — the PNC Championship.

“I was able to knock a lot of the rust off there at the Hero,” Woods said. “My hands felt better with control hitting shots. And especially today with the wind blowing as hard as it was, I was able to hit flighted shots nicely, which was not quite as sharp as I wanted to be at Hero.”

The big concern is the weather. The wind was enough to shake trees, and rain is in the forecast over the next two days. Starting times have been moved up. Everyone will be in a cart, as this is run by the PGA Tour Champions.

Woods has caddied for his son — one of those events is what gave him the green light to play in the Bahamas — and watched him develop. He has taught him about the process of deciding how to hit shots, and the kid sounds inquisitive.

“And sometimes he doesn’t see it the way I saw, which is fun,” Woods said.

Part of that relationship is giving Charlie space to figure it out on his own, golf and life, though Woods said he also provides what he called “guardrails.”

“There’s so much of the noise in our lives that people are always trying to get stuff out of us, and my job as a parent is to protect him from a lot of that stuff,” Woods said. “Then again, as a teenager, I want him to try and become his own man at the same time. So it’s a challenge as a parent and to provide that atmosphere for him, to learn, to grow, and have that freedom, meanwhile understanding that there’s so much noise looking into our lives.”

Woods said it was different for him at that age, mainly because there were no phones and cameras at every turn, and no social media.

On the topic of phones came one pet peeve.

Tiger Woods’ son Charlie appeared to imitate one of his father’s most iconic moments as he sunk a stunning chip for birdie at the PNC Championship. The 14-year-old’s performance throughout the tournament was praised by many, and he even evoked memories of Woods’ stunning chip at the 2005 Masters

On the final day of the PNC Championship, Charlie amazed those in attendance with a delicate chip on the ninth hole. With his ball just outside the green, the younger Woods chipped the ball which slowly creeped its way into the hole.

After sinking the incredible shot, Charlie pointed to the sky and pumped his fist in excitement, yelling “Come on” as he made his way around the green when the ball dropped into the hole. Woods had an immense smile etched across his face as he clapped while beaming with pride.

Naturally, the moment had some similarities to perhaps the most iconic shot of Woods’ career: his chip on the 16th hole at August on championship Sunday. He went on to defeat Chris DiMarco to claim the fourth of his five Masters titles

Woods stuck to tradition and wore his signature red shirt as it was the final day of the competition while son Charlie donned a purple jumper. However, the pair finished the PNC Championship tied for fifth place with Teams Lehman, Cink, Kuchar and Daly at -19.

Heading into Sunday, the duo were tied for 11th and their commendable showing on the final day helped propel them into a more respectable final position. Team Langer, featuring two-time Masters champion Bernhard and son Jason, won the tournament with a score of -25.

Team Woods played well on the first day of the two-day tournament – with Charlie hitting fairway after fairway. He continued to dominate off the tee and didn’t miss a fairway on Sunday.

Woods, whose daughter Sam caddied for her father on Saturday, was thrilled with his son’s play. After seeing Charlie hit another impressive shot, he said: “The ending on that right there, that was nasty. F****** nasty.”

Woods has outlined his intention to play ‘once a month’ on tour in 2024, reiterating his target after completing 72 holes in his comeback at the Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas last month. Speaking to reporters about his planned schedule, Woods said: “I think that if you asked me right now I’m a little sore, but once a month seems reasonable.

“Having a couple of weeks off to recover, a week to build up, there’s no reason why I can’t get into a rhythm. It’s just a matter of getting in better shape basically. I feel like my game’s not that far off, but I need to get in better shape.”

Tiger Woods announced on Monday, January 8, the end of his sponsorship contract with Nike. The end of the iconic relationship has raised numerous questions among fans about Woods’ likely future, but also about that of his son Charlie.

At 14 years of age, Charlie Woods is already taking his first steps in golf with good results. This, coupled with his obvious relationship with his father Tiger Woods, makes Charlie an option for potential sponsors to consider.

There is no rumor associated with the possible signing of Charlie Woods with Nike, neither before Tiger Woods left the brand, nor now. A few weeks ago, reports emerged that Charlie had signed a sponsorship contract with Greyson Clothiers, but this has not been officially confirmed.

Greyson Clothiers is a golf clothing and apparel brand that, among other athletes, sponsors Justin Thomas. Charlie Woods played one of the rounds of the 2023 PNC Championship wearing a sweater with the company’s branding visible.

That same day, former National Football League (NFL) star Larry Fitzgerald, who is also sponsored by Greyson Clothiers, posted on Instagram a “welcome back” to Tiger Woods’ son. The brand’s official account reposted Fitzgerald’s post but later deleted it.

These instances, coupled with the rumor (now confirmed) that Tiger Woods would leave Nike, led some to think that Charlie could be sponsored by Greyson Clothiers. But the truth is that there is no confirmation of this or any other sponsor working with Charlie Woods.

Tiger Woods is almost always phenomenal when he graces a course. Arguably, it’s his competitive nature and ironclad will—that he’s always flaunted during his 27-year-long career—that make it possible. But it seems as if there is yet another side to the golfer that his fans are perhaps less aware of—a humorous yet sarcastic one at that.

Tiger Woods flaunts his humorous side with “aim”

The 82X PGA Tour champ and his son battled it out against the team of Justin Thomas and his father, Mike Thomas, on day 1 of the parent-child event. Team Woods was only able to grab a T11 finish after the first round at 8-under par, but that didn’t hinder the duo from making some long-lasting memories on the course, one of which involved not just Team Woods but Charlie’s friend, “Big Dog.”

In a post shared by the PGA Tour on Twitter (now X), the 15-time major champ was seen talking to his son’s caddie in the tee box. In an act of hyping up Luke Wise, who was Charlie’s assistant on the bags, Mr. T candidly shook his hand, dubbing him “Big Dog,” and said, “Let’s go to work.” However, the scene doesn’t end there, as the video goes on to show another cheeky side of the golfer.

Following his friendly gesture with Luke Wise, the 47-year-old started looking onto the course and hilariously pointed out that he would aim at “that camera dude right there” and “crop dust him” with a drive straight towards him! Unsurprisingly, everyone around him couldn’t help but laugh at the golf pro’s poker-faced joke

This humorous and sarcastic side of Woods is not always on display on the greens, unlike his golfing prowess, which has earned the Hall of Famer many accolades. However, many close to him, including his rival at the PNC Champions, JT, have apparently seen this side of him more than once.

Justin Thomas is more than familiar with Woods’s sarcastic side

Although it isn’t known what Team Thomas or any of Woods’s other rivals on the course thought of the golf legend’s recent comment, many times in the past, JT has made it clear that he is quite familiar with this side of Woods. In fact, in 2021, the 2-time major winner even sat down on the No Laying Up Podcast to talk about the golf legend, who was then on a hiatus.

Thomas revealed that even though Woods was recovering, the two would often meet, mostly on account of their dogs playing with each other. Talking to the hosts about those times, JT stated that even despite not being at 100%, the 15-time Master Champion was still full of sarcasm. labeling him a “sarcastic a**hole,” he revealed that Woods was a lot more cheerful than he had expected, showing that the 17-time PGA Tour winner was more than well-versed in that side of the golf pro.

Undoubtedly, the closer you are to the golf champ, the more sides of him you see. Hence, perhaps there are even more layers to the dedicated, focused, willful, and now-sarcastically hilarious Tiger Woods!

Tiger Woods and his son, Charlie Woods, tend to match a lot while hitting the green for a round of golf.

As soon as Charlie was old enough to play, both father and son matched looks all the way down to their footwear. Now, at 14, Charlie still plays with his father in matching looks, which is endearing, to say the least. From cleats to polos, pants and Nike garb, the pair can be found going matchy-matchy for just about every round of golf.

Tiger Woods announced on Monday that he would be ending his longtime partnership with Nike, one he’s had for 27 years.