Was Tiger Woods’ PNC Championship day encouraging? Or not so much?

Saturday saw the first big fifth round of the year – also doing business as PNC Championship — and offered his usual collection of ‘feels’ that come thanks to his pro-relative format. We look a little behind the curtain, so to speak. there are Bernhard Langer – and his son! there are Annika Sorenstam – and her son! there are Nelly Korda – and her father! there are Tiger Woods – and his son! Yes, they’re at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club, too, for the fifth year in a row, and seeing the 15-time major winner play for the first time since the Open Championship in July brings its own thoughts — especially since Team Woods is tied for the lead.

So we’ve rounded up GOLF staffers Claire Rogers and Nick Piastowski to review the show. Claire is on the ground in sunny Orlando. Nick is at home in the wintry Northeast.

Nick Piastowski (@nickpia): Hello, Claire! It looks a little cooler today, but still golf weather – so yeah, I’m jealous! What’s the atmosphere like down there?

Claire Rogers (@kclairerogers): The vibe is GREAT. The weather is perfect and many people came out to watch Team Woods. From the range to the 18th green, there’s a ton of excitement on the course from early morning until the last tee shot drops. The fans and the players are all equally happy to be here.

Nick: Yeah, I totally got that feeling from TV. At 1 for Woods and Woods, it looked like the fans were five or six deep – for about 200 yards down the fairway. Friday’s pro-am looked really good too – I especially liked Padraig Harrington trying to add speed to the ball per Golf Channel’s Todd Lewis. It was funny – and strangely fascinating all at once. OK, let’s get into golf – and one of the players from one of the three co-leading teams: Tiger. What’s your immediate take after watching it today?

Claire: That he is in full dad mode this week. He’s swinging well and hitting some great shots, but he’s more focused on hanging out with his kids than anything else.

Nick: I’m seeing it. I just looked – between him and Charlie, they used the word “fun” in their post-round press conference six times. So maybe they are! The thought I want to use is that Woods looked on pace. Swing, walk. Nothing forced. Balanced. Broadcast analysts said as much. All that said, it’s not like the PNC is the Masters, or the Ritz-Carlton GC is the Oakmont. Should we be encouraged, discouraged, or just wait and see with Woods after today?

Claire: Encouraged! The course here is definitely flat, but it’s a long walk. I’m just checking my steps for the day, and I’m at 16,200 – and all I did was follow Tiger’s group. He’s done it two days in a row and has another one ahead of him. Last year, he used a wheelchair and relied on Charlie to hit many of the cars. He hit every shot today.

Nick: I also like the word encouraged. Why not? It’s Christmas, right? Drives down the middle are drives down the middle, and shots made are shots made. If anything, momentum does funny things. Then again, we’ve been hyped like this before, so … there’s still a bit of wait and see, too. Okay, let’s talk about his teammate. Charlie seemed to be pretty dialed in – although he was a little hard on himself, it seemed. Have you heard any of these?

Claire: Charlie sank a lot of putts today. I didn’t hear much about the green, but he definitely talked to his golf ball after a few errant shots on the green. Several times, I heard him mutter “How’s that going there?”

Nick: Yes, I feel you, Charlie. We all wonder. My favorite Tiger-Charlie moment was the interaction at the machine on the par-3 17th, where Charlie dropped his tee into the water, then Tiger followed it up with a safe iron into the center of the green – then stepped away and putt speed something. towards his son’s chest. Good things. Let’s go rapid fire now. Best thing you saw this week on the golf course?

Claire: Luke Leonard’s game. He will be a freshman at Villanova in the fall, and I don’t think I saw him hit a bad shot today. His game is so, so consistent.

Nick: I’m going John Daly hitting a range ball – and declaring myself ready to go. Best / weirdest / funniest thing you’ve seen this week, off course?

Claire: Woods’ children and Justin Leonard’s son are in school together, and they had a group of friends and classmates come down to watch the action this weekend. It was great to see how supportive they were (a handful of kids printed signs of Luke Leonard’s face) and I think it kept all the players and corpses inside the ropes feeling relaxed today.

Nick: For me, I’ll go back to Daly and the moment he had with Woods on Friday where he said they both enjoy three-letter places — Woods liked the gym and Daly liked the bar. Best family ‘awwww’ moment?

Claire: I saw Steve Stricker at the range with both of his daughters today and it was such a great moment to observe. The Leonard family also shared a big group hug after Justin and Luke finished their round today, which was really sweet.

Nick: Every interview from Will McGee, Annika Sorenstam’s son, comes to me. We could all use some of that pep. Okay, who wins this thing?

Claire: I think it will be between Team Woods and Team Langer. If qualifying goes well for Team Woods tomorrow, I can see them doing it.

Nick: I like this. A win by Team Trevino – and the subsequent interviews – would also be fantastic. Last question — and your Scoop fans want to know — What’s the ice cream scene like down there?

Claire: I haven’t eaten much in Orlando, but I was in Florida for two weeks and have become a massive fan of Sloan’s Ice Cream. I went there with James Colgan of GOLF on Tuesday night!

Nick: Good to see Colgan doing SOMETHING this week! Me baby, me baby.

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