Photo by Ben Jared/PGA TOUR via Getty Images
Charlie may not have his A-game at the Notah Begay III Invitational but Tiger Woods looks fantastic carrying his son’s bag.
Tiger Woods’ son, Charlie, qualified for the Notah Begay III Invitational at Koasati Pines at Coushatta in Louisiana.
To get into this field, the 14-year-old shot a 6-under 66 at the Last Chance Regional.
However, Charlie has struggled this week as he carded a 73-74 to sit at 5-over through 36 holes, tied for 23rd ahead of the final round.
While this tournament may be about him, his dad has stolen the show. Woods is on the bag this week for his son, and that has caused all kinds of excitement on social media.
For the second day in a row, a video surfaced showing his walk looking fairly normal.
The 15-time major champion isn’t limping. He looks strong. It’s the first time the world has seen him walk like this since before his horrific 2021 car wreck that caused significant damage to his right leg, ankle and foot.
Woods has been seen following Charlie on a golf cart at previous youth events. But this week, he has been strong enough to walk and carry the bag.
This week the PGA Tour is playing on one of his course designs, El Cardonal at Diamante, for the very first time. He was in Mexico at the World Wide Technology Championship and was seen observing on a golf cart.
Then Stewart Cink revealed that Woods was practicing and was in go-mode, which sparked a lot of rumors of a potential return to play.
The videos of Tiger at the Notah Begay III Invitational have people excited. Many didn’t think he would ever play another competitive round and some still feel he may never win again.
He hasn’t played professional golf since the third round of the Masters when Woods had to withdraw.
The 82-time PGA Tour winner had surgery on his ankle after Augusta to help with the arthritis and pain. That procedure caused him to miss the three remaining majors, and his timetable to return was completely unknown.
Woods has been seen playing golf since the surgery, but he wasn’t walking the course like this.
He and Charlie played at Pebble Beach’s short course during the TGR Jr. Invitational week in October. Woods was also seen chipping at Liberty National in September.
But these videos of Woods on his son’s bag feel different. Maybe he is finally getting healthy enough to have less pain in that leg.
Could we see Woods start at his Hero World Challenge event at the end of November, or will he wait for the PNC Championship and next year’s majors?
Charlie came into the Notah Begay III Invitational playing well, but the course hasn’t been as kind to him. This year, he moved into the 14-15 age group, facing tougher competition. Last year, Charlie finished 11th in the 12-13 division.
Class of 2024 player Lucky Cruz leads the 14-15 age section heading into the final day. He shot a 68-65 to sit at 9-under on the event, four strokes ahead of second place. Charlie may be out of the title hunt, but a good round could push him inside the top 20, if not better.
Savannah Leigh Richardson is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. You can follow her on Twitter @SportsGirlSL and Instagram @savannah_leigh_sports for more golf coverage. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough too.
