Matt Kuchar and son Cameron shot a scramble-style 57 to lead by three strokes after the first round of the PNC Championship in Orlando, Fla.
After rounds of 60, Team Langer, Team Singh, Team Goosen and Team Duval tied for second place in the tournament, which features pairings of a winner of a men’s or women’s major tournament or the Players Championship and a family member.
Playing their fourth PNC event, Tiger Woods and his 14-year-old son, Charlie, finished with back-to-back birdies to shoot an 8-under 64 at The Ritz-Carlton Golf Club, which left them in a tie for 11th place.
Charlie, coming off a state high school championship, wowed with drives longer than 300 yards. He was pleased with the long game but not the short one.
“I mean, I drove the ball really good today,” the younger Woods said. “Didn’t miss a fairway, and still managed to shoot 8-under. We just [stink] at putting.”
His father agreed.
“That sums it up right there,” Tiger Woods said.
It was a family affair for Team Woods, with Tiger’s daughter, Sam, caddying.
“Sam was fantastic. This is the first time she’s ever done this, so it couldn’t have been any more special for all of us,” Tiger Woods said.
“For me to have both my kids inside the ropes like this and participating and playing and being part of the game of golf like this, it couldn’t have been more special for me, and I know that we do this a lot at home, needle each other and have a great time. But it was more special to do it in a tournament like this.”
It was a special day for the Kuchars, too, who endured the rainy conditions to tie for the lowest score ever in the opening round of the two-day tournament. Their three-stroke lead is the largest after 18 holes in tournament history.
The Kuchars started on No. 10 and opened with five straight birdies. They had 13 on the round, plus an eagle on the par-5 No. 3.
“We got pretty lucky. This weather right now is worse than we played in,” Matt Kuchar said in his post-round news conference. “We had a light drizzle. I brought an umbrella out for all of two minutes. Having a cart, extra bonus, but it was a light drizzle with kind of light wind early. That 7:30 tee time, first off, wind wasn’t bad so conditions were fairly soft. I think we got lucky with the best of it.”
Bernhard Langer and his son, Jason, are attempting to win their third PNC Championship. A college golfer while he attended Penn, 23-year-old Jason now works in finance. Like Woods, he was a proud father on Saturday.
“Jason played incredibly well for somebody who doesn’t play much golf anymore,” Bernhard Langer said. “Hit a lot of quality shots. … And he’s putting well. He’s doing everything well.
“So it’s fun watching him. Pleasure being with him as always and having family out here to support us is always fantastic. It’s a family event. It’s known for that.”
–Field Level Media
