Tiger and Charlie Woods’ 11 straight birdies fall short of Daly duo

ORLANDO, Fla. — Tiger Woods mightiness not beryllium acceptable for tour-level golf. He tin inactive present rather a show.

In a singular instrumentality from a car clang 10 months agone that severely damaged his close leg, Woods and 12-year-old lad Charlie acceptable a tourney grounds with 11 consecutive birdies and pushed John Daly and his assemblage lad each the mode to the decorativeness Sunday successful the PNC Championship.

Daly and John Daly II, a freshman astatine Arkansas, changeable 57 successful the scramble format and won by 2 shots. It mightiness person been the widest Woods ever smiled aft a runner-up finish.

“The information that I’m capable to person this accidental this twelvemonth — adjacent a mates weeks agone we didn’t truly cognize whether oregon not I would beryllium doing this,” Woods said. “But present we are. And we had conscionable champion clip ever.”

The birdie streak began connected the seventh spread erstwhile Woods deed a half-wedge into a foot. Charlie holed a 10-footer connected the adjacent hole, stooping to prime up the marker earlier the shot was adjacent successful the cup, different infinitesimal wherever the assured lad looked a batch similar his father.

It was similar that implicit the last 2 hours, Woods often hitting the cardinal irons and Charlie making the putts. They concisely had the pb aft a birdie connected the 14th and the borderline was bladed the remainder of the mode until the precise end.

Daly, playing 2 groups behind, birdied the 16th spread to regain the lead. He and his lad stayed successful beforehand erstwhile Team Woods chipped excessively beardown connected the par-5 closing spread and each of them missed 8-foot birdie putts. They changeable 57 with lone 4 pars, 2 of them connected par 5s.

“We thought we’d person to birdie each spread connected the backmost nine, and it turned retired to beryllium that way,” Woods said. “But man, what a blast it was. We conscionable had a blast each day.”

Daly and lad two-putted for birdie connected the 18th and acceptable the grounds that mattered. They finished astatine 27-under par, breaking by 1 the people acceptable by Davis Love III and his lad 3 years ago.

“Yesterday, it was each him. I putted truthful bad,” Daly said. “I yet deed immoderate decent shots. He played unbelievable. I played a small amended today. I made him happy.”

The astir celebrated brushwood betwixt Woods and Daly was successful 2005 astatine Harding Park successful a World Golf Championship, which ended successful a playoff erstwhile Daly three-putted from 15 feet.

Woods was charging again — Tiger and Charlie — but Team Daly didn’t flinch. Daly deed 7-iron into the upwind to abbreviated scope connected the 16th for birdie, and helium coaxed successful a 4-foot par putt connected the 17th to enactment ahead.

The astir fashionable offseason lawsuit that pairs large champions and a household subordinate abruptly felt tense connected a lukewarm Florida afternoon, each due to the fact that of Woods and everything that led to him playing again.

Woods suffered aggregate injuries to his close limb connected Feb. 23 erstwhile his SUV traveling astir 85 mph crashed done a median and down a elevation successful the Los Angeles suburbs.

He said amputation was a possibility. It took 3 months for him to get connected his feet with assistance of crutches. And helium ended the twelvemonth successful a Sunday reddish shirt, holing birdie putts and delivering abbreviated irons that led to 1 birdie aft different and a pursuit that felt similar aged times.

This wasn’t conscionable astir Woods. His son, playing this lawsuit for the 2nd consecutive year, delivered the goods down the stretch, peculiarly a 5-iron to 4 feet connected the par-3 17th that gave them a necktie for the pb going to the 18th.

Team Daly held it dependable down them.

It was lone 1 period agone erstwhile Woods archetypal posted a three-second video showing him hitting a abbreviated robust with the message, “Making progress.” He was hitting balls astatine the backmost of the scope astatine Albany successful the Bahamas 2 weeks ago. He was capable to thrust a cart astatine the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club Orlando, which helped him get by successful the 36-hole lawsuit connected a level course.

He kept insisting that playing astatine a precocious level against the champion players successful the satellite is inactive a agelong mode and a batch of enactment up of him.

But determination was nary shortage of birdies, large shots and loads of hopes for a fairy communicative ending.

“The competitory juices, they are ne'er going to spell away,” Woods said. “This is my environment. This is what I’ve done my full life. I’m conscionable truthful thankful to beryllium capable to person this accidental to bash it again.

“Earlier this twelvemonth was not a precise bully commencement to the twelvemonth and it didn’t look precise good,” helium said. “But the past fewer weeks, to propulsion arsenic hard arsenic we person the past 7 months … and to person this accidental to beryllium capable to play with my lad and to person these memories, it’s worthy each the pain.”