Bernhard Langer of Germany sank an eagle putt on the first playoff hole Sunday to deny Tiger Woods and his son Charlie their first win at the PNC Championship at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club in Orlando, Fla.
Instead, Langer won the event for the sixth time — his fourth victory with son Jason Langer to go with two titles with his other son, Stefan Langer.
Team Woods and Team Langer both tied the scoring record at the 36-hole family team event, following rounds of 59 Saturday with matching 57s Sunday for matching scores of 28-under-par 116.
The day will perhaps best be remembered for Charlie Woods’ first-ever hole-in-one, which he hit at the 176-yard, par-3 fourth hole early in Sunday’s round.
“It was awesome having Dad there. That was so much fun,” the younger Woods said. “It was just a perfect 7-iron, little cut in there. Of course, never got to see it go in, so that sucks. But that’s all right.”
“We heard it up on the green on the right and left but we were totally unsure until the TV confirmed it. And we went nuts,” Tiger Woods said. “I don’t know what we did but we enjoyed it. It was an unbelievable moment.”
Charlie Woods, 15, said the shot ranked as the most fun he’s ever had on a golf course: “It’s not even close.”
The 15-time major champion and his son scrambled their way to an 8-under 28 on the front nine and a 7-under 29 on the back. But it was only enough to force a playoff with the Langers.
Bernhard Langer — the winningest player in PGA Tour Champions history — and his son made eight birdies on the back nine to reach 28 under for the event. The playoff hole was the par-5 18th, and after Team Woods had taken three shots, Langer calmly sank a right-to-left eagle putt for the win.
He let his putter drop to the ground and took off his cap in celebration before embracing Tiger Woods. They had played the final round together before heading to the playoff hole.
“I played with him probably a dozen times,” said Bernhard Langer, 67. “I was one of the first to play with him when he turned pro. But that was a long time ago. He’s come a long way and won a lot of tournaments since. But they couldn’t have been nicer.”
He praised his son for handling the “out-of-body experience” of playing a round with Woods.
“It was really special to be able to be out there with Tiger, and yeah, the crowd was more than anything I’ve ever played in front of for sure,” Jason Langer said. “I’m not that competitive these days. I play a couple amateur events a year. But definitely today was not something that I am used to.”
This tournament was Tiger Woods’ first public round of golf since he missed the cut at The Open Championship in July. He is three months removed from back surgery and has not revealed his playing plans for 2025.
Asked if his promising weekend in Orlando was encouraging, he demurred.
“This is all about family,” he said. “This is about bonding and it’s about having a great time and we did that. This is a thrill of a lifetime for us to be able to experience this all together.”
–Field Level Media
