Charles Howell III still has burning desire to add to trophy collection

SILVAS, Ill. – Steven Bowditch was a teenager when he landed a one-off chance to caddie for John Senden at the Jack Newton Classic in Coolum, Australia. It was a formative experience, so when Bowditch learned he’d gotten into this week’s John Deere Classic, he paid it forward. After opening up the job on Twitter, and getting more applicants than he anticipated, Bowditch hired 16-year-old Elias Francque, a kid from the suburbs of Chicago whose uncles work for John Deere and whose grandparents run a farm near TPC Deere Run. “It was something I’ve always wanted to do,� said Bowditch, “and I had a late entry, I got called Monday afternoon. I was struggling to find a caddie, and I thought about it, thought this was probably a good opportunity to make a kid smile for the week, and that’s all it was.� That may have been all it was, but fans have had fun following the late-developing arranged marriage. Bowditch, who won the 2015 AT&T Byron Nelson, lit up Twitter with his job posting: Replied Francque: I visit my grandparents farm nearby. Ive played the course and loved it. Two of my uncles work for John Deere. I’m a caddy at my local country club and on the golf team. I turn 17 on Friday and helping you make the cut would be a great birthday present! I love Australia With that, he was hired. In a sense, this goes back to Ian Baker-Finch, who hired a teenage Senden to be his caddie. Senden paid it forward when he hired Bowditch years later, and now Bowditch, 35, has kept it going. He is perhaps just being realistic when he gives himself little chance to make the cut; he is 0-for-5 this season, and coming off a brutal year in which he made just two cuts in 27 chances.  Still, the job seekers poured in on Twitter. Some of the 150-plus responders were jokesters, a few zinged him for his promised payment of gloves and balls, but most were serious. “I didn’t think it would get the response it did,� Bowditch said. “It was neat.� He played 18 holes with his new man Tuesday, and gave Francque the day off Wednesday, as the Aussie golfer did not play and instead hunkered down at the end of the driving range.  “He’s a good caddie,� Bowditch said. “He does it in the summertime.� It’s tempting to conclude Francque has his work cut out for him, and easy to be pessimistic, but fortunes change. Bryson DeChambeau missed eight straight cuts last season before breaking out with his first PGA TOUR win at the Deere. And before the streaky Bowditch won the AT&T Byron Nelson, he endured a run of seven missed cuts in eight starts in 2015.   What if he doesn’t just make the cut at the Deere. What if he wins? What kind of cinema-ready Cinderella story would it be for Bowditch, and for Francque?  “I hope so,� Bowditch said. “I hope so for him, too.�

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Tiger and Charlie Woods will tee it up once again at the PNC Championship this weekend at the Ritz-Carlton GC in Orlando, Florida. This will be their third consecutive appearance at the tournament, which has become one of the marquee events of the fall season. Related: The First Look: PNC Championship While some like to refer to this section of the golf calendar as the “silly season,” there is nothing silly about Tiger Woods teeing it up at this stage of his career, regardless of the context. As many witnessed during the most recent edition of Capital One’s The Match, whenever and wherever Tiger appears on a golf course, it becomes must-see entertainment. This weekend at the PNC Championship alongside his son is poised to be no different. There won’t be any FedExCup points up for grabs, or any OWGR ranking to fight over. Just some of the biggest names in the sport playing golf with their family around the holidays. This event reminds so many of us why we love the game. In preparation for the PNC Championship, we collected some of the most iconic moments over the last two years from Team Woods. Charlie flushes 5-iron off the tee to card Team Woods’ 11th consecutive birdie Team Woods entered the final round of the 2021 PNC Championship tied for fifth, three shots off the lead. While most fans were happy to just see Tiger back on a golf course, the Woods duo were over the simple pomp and circumstance of their mere presence. They were there to win. What followed was a display of superb scramble golf from Charlie and Tiger that included a run of 11 straight birdies starting at the sixth and extending through No. 17. The run was highlighted by Charlie striping a 5-iron to 4 feet on the par-3 17th, tying the lead with John Daly and his college-aged son John Daly II heading to 18. Charlie dropped the putt for the solo birdie, marking 11 straight circles for Team Woods, a tournament record. Charlie hits the iconic walk-in and putter raise It took just four holes into the first round of the 2021 PNC for the moxie of the younger Woods to be on full display for the world. Taking a page out of Tiger’s book of signature celebrations, Charlie walked in a lengthy birdie putt and raised his putter to the sky just like his father has done in some of the biggest moments in the history of golf. That wasn’t the only statement putt from the younger Woods, as he drained a birdie on the par-3 eighth and promptly tossed his marker at dear old dad. Charlie displays trash-talk prowess with clever response to Mike Thomas Tiger Woods isn’t one of the more outspoken figures in golf, but certainly knows how to dish out some clever trash talk. This gamesmanship isn’t lost on son Charlie, who delivered the perfect needle to the team of Justin Thomas and dad Mike Thomas at the 2020 PNC. Mike Thomas, a PGA professional who specializes in coaching junior golfers and has worked with Charlie in the past, left a note for the younger Woods in the middle of the fairway during the pro-am the day before the first round. “Charlie drove one through the fairway and my dad was playing in front of them and he’d hit it into the trees,” Justin Thomas explained. “My dad wrote on a piece of paper ‘draw hole’ and put it under his ball. In typical Woods fashion, he kept the piece of paper, and when my dad hit it in the bunker, he put the exact same piece of paper behind his ball.” Some gall for an 11-year-old to call out a seasoned PGA professional, in front of the TV cameras no less. One could suppose that’s just the natural confidence instilled in someone growing up with an 82-time TOUR winner as a dad. “For some reason, Charlie just always wants to beat me, it doesn’t matter what it is. Although he’s never beaten me in golf or a putting contest, he still talks trash just like his dad. It will be fun,” said Justin Thomas. “We’ll have that inner tournament within a tournament, trying to shut his little mouth up, but it will be fun.” Tiger outdrives Justin Thomas Following the shocking news of Tiger Woods’ car accident in February 2021, questions began to surface asking if the 15-time major champion would ever be able to compete, or even play golf, again. After intense surgery, talks of amputation, and eventually being bedridden to his Florida home for three months, Tiger returned to golf alongside his son at the 2021 PNC Championship. Tiger’s game was limited. A noticeable limp and stiffness in the swing were apparent from the first tee shot. Justin Thomas, playing alongside Team Woods, was determined that a 45-year-old, hobbled Tiger would not outdrive him. That changed on the 11th hole. “I hit it pretty good and as soon as his ball took that big bounce, we looked at each other and I was like, ‘If it’s going to happen, it’s going to be this one because I think it just launched.’ And yeah, that was a shot to the ego,” Thomas said with a smile. Team Woods would go on to birdie the hole, but it was in that moment off the tee that Tiger showed he just might still have what it takes to compete. “It’s pretty amazing, isn’t it?” Nick Faldo said. “To go from fearing that you can’t use your foot to standing, he’s gone through every stage and ticking every box with sheer hard work and amazing determination. Maybe this was a goal. This was a great goal for him to come and play with his boy.” The mannerisms One of the biggest catalysts in the public’s growing interest in Charlie Woods was a video put together following the 2020 PNC Championship, super cutting the similarities in movements and mannerisms between father and son. Where most people share some common traits with their parents, few get to display those characteristics through a shared sport in front of the television cameras. Those who have watched Tiger play over the last three decades were quick to see the eerily similar quirks Charlie has picked up from his dad. The swing. The fist pump. The quick grab of the tee. It’s all there.

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