‘I Used to Be Good’: Tiger Woods, Son Charlie Get Laughs in PNC Press Conference

The 13-year-old told the media Tiger’s performance on Saturday at the PNC was “the best he’s ever played in a while.”

Tiger and Charlie Woods enthralled golf fans with their play at the 2022 PNC Championship, but it was the snippets of father-son banter that made the weekend all the more entertaining.

Team Woods finished six shots behind champions Vijay and Qass Singh, shooting a stellar 13-under 59 on Saturday and a less impressive 7-under 65 on Sunday. 

Tiger and Charlie’s play deserves to be marked with an asterisk, though, as they each battled through injuries all weekend. Charlie played on a rolled left ankle, while Tiger dealt with plantar fasciitis in his right foot, a condition which forced him to withdraw from the Hero World Challenge earlier in the month. 

On Saturday in particular, Charlie struggled to make a normal swing, but Tiger came to the rescue with a handful of vintage moments. The 15-time major champion saved the day with a chip-in eagle, several long-range birdie putts, and clutch iron play.

When asked about what he learned from the experience, Charlie gave his honest thoughts on his father’s performance.

"Yeah, I used to be good." 😂

Charlie and Tiger Woods react to their rounds of 59-65 at the @pncchampionship. pic.twitter.com/dN4gVpJjJz

— Golf Channel (@GolfChannel) December 18, 2022

“I already knew what he was capable of,” Charlie said. “And then yesterday, that’s the best he’s ever played in a while. And that kind of shocked me a little bit. That’s really it.”

Tiger was visibly amused at his 13-year-old son’s response, and the audience got a kick out of it. 

“Yeah, I used to be good,” Tiger said. “Again, it was neat to roll back the clock for him to see what I used to be capable of.”

It turns out that years of highlight footage might not have been enough to convince Charlie of his dad’s sheer greatness in the game. It was a few timely birdies in a family scramble tournament that did it for the 13-year-old.

Another witness of Tiger’s play on Saturday, however, needed no reminder of what the five-time Masters champion can do on the course when he needs to. Justin Thomas’s caddie, Jim “Bones” Mackay, was on the bag for Phil Mickelson during Tiger’s prime.

“[If] anyone who knows what I used to be able to do, [it was] Bones. And so Bones got a big kick out of that yesterday,” Tiger added.

Team Woods may have fallen short of the PNC Championship title, but they won when it comes to priceless father-son moments.