R1 Insights

Five-time winner and defending Champion Bernhard Langer and son Jason playing together in the final group with 2022 Winners Vijay and Qass Singh both birdied the 18^th to join Tiger and Charlie Woods in a three-way tie at the top of the leaderboard.

Tiger and Charlie Woods were the first to reach -13 as they birdied the final hole.

On how they played…

Charlie: “Felt pretty good. I didn’t hit it great but Dad saved me on a couple of them and I rolled them in.”

Tiger: “It’s a scramble. So we’re trying to pull off each and every shot for each other, and to ham-and-egg, and I think we did that great pretty much the entire day. We picked each other up, which was great. And Charlie made pretty much most of the putts today.”

On how Tiger felt his game was shaping up…

“I’m just trying to have fun out here. I’m very rusty and as I said it’s a scramble, and so we’re just trying to have fun out there. Ham-and-egg each other. Push each other in great spots, and just root for each other to pull off the shot that we want.”

On first tee nerves…

Tiger: “Of course. I’m always nervous out there. That’s the fun part. I’ve always told you guys that if I’m not nervous, that means I don’t care. I care about what I do. And so yes, I’ve gotten more comfortable over the years playing in front of people. That just happens through experience and time.

But yes, I was nervous on that first tee shot today. It was great. It’s good to feel those butterflies.”

Charlie: “I don’t know, it’s just as I get older, I learn how to deal with different things. Like last year, I focused so much on winning and playing, instead of everything else and having fun out there. Like Dad said, I did a lot better today.”

Five-time winner Bernhard Langer on how they played…

“I think we didn’t get off to a great start not birdieing the first two, but then we got into the groove and played pretty solid from there on. Jason made some wonderful putts and hit some really good shots. I’m very proud of him the way he played, and we’re happy to be co-leaders at this stage and time.”

On PNC renewing their sponsorship through 2032…

“I think it’s wonderful. I think PNC sees how big this tournament has become, and what a great association it is with NBC and the players that are coming out here; the quality and calibre of players that are participating. They have got a waiting list of probably 20 that would love to be here, so I think that speaks volumes.

Yeah, when they announced it yesterday, you know, even Fred Couples, who plays very little golf, he said, “Well, count me in for the next seven years,” if his stepson wants to play with him. It’s great. Wonderful news.”

2022 Champion Vijay Singh on what he thinks is the key to winning tomorrow…

“It’s going to be a shootout. It’s anybody within, you know, three or four shots have a chance to win. This is a competition where whoever makes the most amount of putts are going to win. The tees are very spread out. So you’ve got to hit the ball good but putting is the key.”

On what they need to do to prepare for tomorrow…

Vijay: “Well, he needs to hit a couple of balls and I need to hit maybe a couple of hundred (laughing).”

Qass: “Maybe the opposite. But he needs to save some energy for tomorrow, and hopefully he doesn’t have to carry me as much.”

Three-time major champion Padraig Harrington on the joy of watching his son play this week…

“You’re very proud when they hit a shot. It really is, you know, whenever they do something that’s,  like Paddy hit one down 16 today, and it was as good as any pro could hit. He hit it on 13, drove it 30 feet from the hole in the front bunker. It pitched there. I was going, yeah, that’s really nice. It’s nice when you see your son do something like that.

Yeah, this tournament brings out a lot of joy for the dads. A little bit of stress around the event, too. But I think you wouldn’t miss it for the world.”