Tiger’s son is a big hit
The guy with a swoosh on his shirt and a Tiger head cover on his driver looked pretty good. So did Tiger Woods. Charlie Woods, the 11-year-old son of the 15-time major champion, made his national TV debut Saturday in the PNC Championship. And according to his dad, he played golf just like he does at home. Never mind that he had some 250 people following along, more than his dad had watching him at the coronavirus-altered Masters last month. Charlie confidently twirled his club before shots, quickly picked up the tee on his drives and even pumped his fist on the par-5 third hole with a 3-wood shot that put the ball three feet away from the hole for eagle. They finished the scramble format at 10-under 62, four shots behind the leaders — Matt Kuchar and his son Cameron. “I don’t really care about my game,” Woods said. “I’m just making sure that Charlie has the time of his life. And he’s doing that.” Charlie is the youngest to play in this 36-hole event that began in 1995 for major champions and their sons but now includes all family members. He loves the game enough to have started playing in a few junior events, and he had no qualms playing before a crowd or the cameras. A television camera was positioned some 15 feet away to the right of Charlie on the opening tee at the Ritz-Carlton Club at Grande Lakes in Orlando, Florida, and he was a little quick with his swing, pulling it to the left. They used his father’s tee shot and wedge shot to put the ball two feet away before Charlie made the birdie putt. That was the last time Team Woods used Tiger’s tee shot on a long hole until No. 15. It helped that Charlie was able to use a forward tee, 100 yards ahead of the PGA Tour players on some holes.
› NAPLES, Fla. — Sei Young Kim is in position to repeat at the CME Group Tour Championship, take player of the year honors, win the money title and possibly even move to No. 1 in the world ranking for women’s golf. Kim took a one-stroke lead over top-ranked Jin Young Ko into the final round of the LPGA Tour season, shooting a 5-underpar 67 on Saturday in warmer conditions at Tiburon Golf Club to reach 13-under 203. Ko had a 69. For Kim to take the No. 1 spot in the world from Ko, she would have to win today and have Ko finish solo 10th or worse. Ko has held the top spot for 73 weeks in a row. Georgia Hall was third at 10 under after a 68. Lexi Thompson (71), Brooke Henderson (66), Charley Hull (66), Minjee Lee (66) and Austin Ernst (69) were 9 under. Kim is tied for the tour victory lead with Danielle Kang with two, winning the major KPMG Women’s PGA Championship and Pelican Women’s Championship in consecutive starts in October and November.
FOOTBALL
› DENVER — The Buffalo Bills clinched their first AFC East Division title in a quarter-century Saturday when 24-year-old quarterback Josh Allen
threw for two touchdowns and ran for two more in a 48-19 rout of the Denver Broncos. The Bills (11-3) scored twice in a 17-second span in the third quarter to ice their fourth straight victory that officially ended the New England Patriots’ 11-year reign atop the division. The Broncos (5-9) have their fourth consecutive losing season for the first time since they had 10 straight sub-.500 campaigns from 1963 to 1972. They also became the first team ever to go five years without making the playoffs after a Super Bowl victory. Allen threw for 359 yards, hitting Stefon Diggs
11 times for 147 yards before a foot injury in the fourth quarter, and Cole Beasley
eight times for 112 yards.
› The College Football Playoff semifinal scheduled to be played at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, on Jan. 1 is moving to the Dallas Cowboys’ AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. College Football Playoff executive director Bill Hancock said Saturday night that the CFP management committee and Tournament of Roses mutually agreed to relocate the game because of the growing number of COVID-19 cases in Southern California. California state health restrictions have banned the Rose Bowl from having fans in attendance for the game. Coaches and school officials from playoff contenders have complained about players’ parents not being permitted to attend the game.