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LPGA Hall of Famer Kathy Whitworth, whose 88 victories are the most by any player on a single professional tour, died on Saturday at the age of 83.
Per ESPN, Whitworth's longtime partner Bettye Odle said she died suddenly on Saturday night while celebrating the holidays with family and friends. A cause of death has not been provided.
"Kathy left this worth the way she lived her lifeβloving, laugh and creating memories," Odle said in a statement.
Whitworth's illustrious career spanned over two decades, as she won the first of her 88 titles in July 1962 in the Kelly Girl Open and she recorded her final victory in 1985 at the United Virginia Bank Classic. She won six majors during her career, and she became the first woman to earn $1 million on the LPGA Tour.
When she won the Lady Michelob in 1982, she surpassed Mickey Wright's record of 82 LPGA wins. That number still stands as the PGA Tour record, shared by Tiger Woods and Sam Snead.
The one major that escaped Whitworth during her career was the U.S. Women's Open.
"I would have swapped being the first to make a million for winning the Open, but it was a consolation which took some of the sting out of not winning," she said in 1981.
Whitworth earned LPGA player of the year seven times from 1966 to 1973. She was named AP Female Athlete of the Year twice in 1965 and 1967, and in 1982, she was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame.
Upon her retirement, Whitworth continued on in the sport by conducting junior clinics. Despite her enormous amount of success, she remained humble through it all.
"I don't think about the legacy of 88 tournaments," she said. "I did it because I wanted to win, not to set a record or a goal that no one else could surpass. I'm not some great oddity. I was just fortunate to be so successful. What I did in being a better player does not make me a better person. When I'm asked how I would like to be remembered, I feel that if people remember me at all, it will be good enough."
Vijay and Qass Singh of Fiji won the 2022 PNC Championship at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club in Orlando, Florida, on Sunday after finishing 13-under 59 in Round 2 to hold off the teams of John Daly and Justin Thomas.
Team Singh got off to a hot start in Sunday's second round, making a birdie on each of the first seven holes before adding two more on Nos. 12 and 13. They added an eagle on the 14th to grab a share of the lead before breaking away from the pack with a birdie on No. 16 to move to 25 under.
The Singhs capped off their win with a birdie on the 18th hole to secure a two-shot victory.
2022 PNC Championship Leaderboard
1. Team Singh: -26
T2. Team Daly: -24
T2. Team Thomas: -24
4. Team Harrington: -22
T5. Team Kuchar: -21
T5. Team Korda: -21
T5. Team Langer: -21
T8. Team O'Meara: -20
T8. Team Spieth: -20
T9. Team Woods: -20
11. Team Cink: -19
Full results available at PGATour.com
Team Singh shot identical 59s in both rounds to become the first team to shoot under 60 twice in PNC history. They came close to winning in the past, finishing runner-up in 2006, 2013 and 2020.
Team Daly, consisting of John Daly and John Daly II, finished 24 under, including 13 under on Sunday.
The defending champions secured three straight birdies to open Sunday's action before adding another three birdies on Nos. 5 through 7. Another five birdies came on Nos. 9 through 13, and they capped off the day with an eagle on the 18th hole.
Much of the attention throughout the tournament was placed on Team Woods. The duo of Tiger Woods and his 13-year-old son, Charlie, finished 20 under, including seven under Sunday.
Team Woods began with birdies on the first and third holes before recording an eagle on the fifth hole. They carded a bogey on No. 7 before bouncing back with five birdies and a bogey on the back nine to finish out the tournament.
With the PNC Championship wrapped, the PGA Tour will next move to Ka'upulehu-Kona, Hawaii, for the Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai Golf Club from Jan. 20-22.
Tiger Woods and his son, Charlie, were just two strokes off the lead at the PNC Championship after Saturday's opening round.
That was as close as they would get.
Team Woods shot a 7-under 65 on Sunday, finishing six strokes behind the winners, Team Singh, in Orlando, Florida.
Tiger and Charlie ultimately finished in a tie for eighth place. Saturday's leaders, Justin Thomas and his father, Mike, tied for second with John Daly and his son, John II.
Nobody was catching Team Singh on Sunday:
Both Tiger and Charlie were a bit hobbled, with the 46-year-old dealing with plantar fasciitis in his right foot and the 13-year-old with a hurting left ankle.
"It's what I've been saying. I can hit the ball; I just have a tougher time getting from Point A to Point B," Tiger told reporters Saturday. "I've had a frustrating couple years. But again, to be able to be a part of this game and to be able to do this, I've missed being able to compete and play."
"On some shots it hurt a lot. Walking was tough," Charlie added of his own ailments Saturday. "But it was all right. It wasn't that bad."
Despite the injuries, the pair provided plenty of memorable moments Sunday.
It wasn't enough to keep them in the running for the victory, with seven birdies and an eagle offset by two bogeys.
Team Singh was simply too good over the weekend, notching back-to-back rounds of 59 to steal the show. Especially for a father/son duo dealing with knocks.
"Charlie and I...we played great yesterday," Woods told reporters Sunday. "And today we were both like walking penguins out there. It was all good, though."
Legendary golfer Tiger Woods and his 13-year-old son, Charlie Woods, turned in an excellent team performance in the first round of the PNC Championship at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club in Orlando, Florida, on Saturday.
Playing in a scramble format, Tiger and Charlie carded a 13-under 59, placing them in a tie for second place, just two strokes behind Justin and Mike Thomas at 15-under.
The father-son Woods duo combined to record 11 birdies, one eagle and no bogeys in the first round of their third PNC Championship together.
Originally called the Father/Son Challenge, the PNC Championship has been played since 1995 and features PGA Tour or Champions Tour golfers who have won a major championship or the Players Championship in the past teaming with family members who are not currently professional golfers.
Tiger and Charlie have garnered the bulk of the attention in recent years since Tiger is arguably the greatest golfer of all time, while Charlie is a phenom who seemingly has a successful future in golf ahead of him.
Both Tiger and Charlie played well out of the gates, playing the front nine at eight-under par. Charlie was locked in with quality approaches and some lengthy putts, including a bomb of a birdie on No. 7:
As solid as Charlie was, Tiger truly turned heads Saturday with his play, especially since he has struggled significantly with injuries over the past several years.
Last year's PNC Championship was Woods' first tournament in a year, but he entered this year's tourney with a lot more golf under his belt in 2022, including playing in the seventh edition of The Match last week.
That seemingly served Tiger well, as he confidently sunk birdie putts, showed great club speed on his tee shots and approach shots, and even chipped in for eagle:
Tiger found himself in such a groove that Jason Sobel of The Action Network marveled at how well he was putting in particular:
While the back nine wasn't quite as good for Tiger and Charlie, they still managed five birdies and closed on a high note when Charlie made a birdie putt on the 18th:
Perhaps the most impressive aspect of the Woods' performance on Saturday was the fact that neither Tiger nor Charlie appeared to be 100 percent healthy.
Tiger will likely always be banged up due to the multiple back and knee surgeries he has undergone, in addition to a nagging foot injury currently, but Beth Ann Nichols of Golfweek also snapped a photo of Charlie favoring his ankle:
Despite that, Tiger and Charlie put themselves in position to potentially win the PNC Championship in Sunday's second and final round after finishing second in the tournament last year.
Tiger has shown he can compete at a high level in the PNC Championship over the past couple of years, and while Bob Harig of Sports Illustrated was impressed by what the 46-year-old Woods did Saturday, he openly wondered if it could translate to bigger individual tournaments:
Tiger is a 15-time major champion after shockingly winning the 2019 Masters, but he hasn't come close to winning another major since then, including a 47th-place finish in this year's Masters, plus withdrawing from the PGA Championship and missing the cut at the Open Championship.
While Woods' pursuit of the record for most major championships will consider to be a huge story until he retires, none of it matters at the PNC Championship.
Tiger has made it clear many times how much playing alongside his son means to him, and it seemed to motivate him to play great golf Saturday.
The team of Justin Thomas and his father, Mike, finished Saturday's opening round play at the PNC Championship atop the scoreboard after shooting a 15-under 57.
That gave them a two-stroke lead over Team Singh and Team Woods.
The PNC Championship features PGA Tour stars paired with one of their family members in a two-person scramble format. The format allows teams to select the best drive or putt per stroke, while the discarded hit doesn't count against the score.
The day's highlight was undoubtedly the back and forth between the eventual leaders, Team Thomas, and the duo of Tiger Woods and his son, Charlie:
Team Langer ended the day in fourth (-12), while seven teams settled into a tie for fifth at 11 under.
The Woods' duo was one of the day's biggest stories, with young Charlie continuing to prove himself an adept golfer.
"Well this is what I see at home all the time, so I'm used to it," Tiger said of his son's impressive play after the round, before teasing him a touch. "Unfortunately, this is not the game plan that we had originally planned out. His ankle's not exactly feeling the best, so I've had to hit a couple more drives than I normally would. But obviously it was a great day. ... We're in a great position for tomorrow."
They'll be trying to catch a Team Thomas duo that had 11 birdies, two eagles and no bogeys on the day, an impressive round to say the least.
The round came under the backdrop of LIV CEO and commissioner Greg Norman saying he had reached out to Thomas about potentially defecting, during an interview with the magazine bunkered.
"I mean, we talked to JT," he said. "Me and another member of my team, we sat down with him and gave him the full presentation and, if you notice, he's not said much negative about what we're doing, presumably because he knows it and understands it."
Thomas had previously said back in June he was disappointed to see so many players leave for LIV Golf and wished they hadn't defected, calling the PGA Tour "the best place to play in the world."
After Thomas' previous comments, it's hard to imagine him making the switch. Whatever he decides, it didn't appear to be much of a distraction Saturday.
Tiger Woods is still recovering from plantar fasciitis in his right foot, but it won't stop him from taking part in the PNC Championship this weekend in Orlando, Florida, alongside his son, Charlie.
"You know, I don't really care about that [a delayed recovery]," Woods told reporters Friday. "I think being there with and alongside my son is far more important, and [getting] to have a chance to have this experience with him is far better than my foot being a little creaky."
The annual tournament provides a chance for major champions to compete alongside family members. Team Woods finished second last year behind John Daly and his son, John Daly II.
Tiger and Charlie took part in Friday's pro-am at Ritz-Carlton Golf Club and showcased plenty of similarities on the tee:
Though Tiger was limping during the pro-am, he will be able to use a cart during the 36-hole event.
The 46-year-old also participated in Capital One's The Match last Saturday alongside Rory McIlroy, losing to Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas. All competitors were allowed to use a cart in that event as well.
Woods missed most of last season while recovering from a February 2021 car crash. He entered The Open Championship at St. Andrews but missed the cut and hasn't took part in an official event since. The superstar was expected to return for the Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas, but the foot injury caused him to withdraw.
Despite his physical issues, Woods is excited to play alongside Charlie.
"Any time I get a chance to spend time with my son, it's always special," he said Friday. "And to do it in a competitive forum, the last couple of years have been magical, and to be able to do it again, we're looking forward to it."
Tiger and Charlie Woods were on the course together for Friday's pro-am at the 2022 PNC Championship.
The father-son duo are playing in the tournament together for the second consecutive year. Charlie hit a growth spurt over the past 12 months and is getting closer to being as tall as his father.
There was some drama before the Woods' duo began their round. Cameron Jourdan of GolfWeek.com noted Charlie rolled his ankle as he was warming up and was walking with a slight limp.
It didn't affect Charlie too much when he stepped up to the first tee.
At just 13 years old, Charlie's swing was drawing rave reviews from fans and analysts:
Tiger and Charlie are one of 20 pairings competing at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club. They had a strong showing last year, finishing second behind John Daly and his son, John Daly II, won the event.
This marks Tiger's first tournament since the Open Championship in July. He was scheduled to compete in the Hero World Challenge, but had to withdraw due to plantar fasciitis.
Tiger got a warm up for the PNC Championship last week in Capital One's The Match. The 46-year-old teamed up with Rory McIlroy in the annual event, but they were taken down 3 and 2 in 10 holes by Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas.
Round 1 of the PNC Championship will begin at 10:05 a.m. ET on Saturday. Tiger and Charlie will tee off at 12:02 p.m. ET.
Professional golf played at night?
Yes, there was indeed high-profile golf played under the lights instead of daylight.
And that's just one of the unique but entertaining twists featured at the seventh edition of Capital One's The Match, which saw Rory McIlroy team up with Tiger Woods to go head-to-head with the pairing of Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas.
The 12-hole competition was played in the evening at the Pelican Golf Club in Belleair, Florida, to settle a few scores between four of golf's biggest stars and support Florida in its effort to bounce back from the statewide devastation in the wake of Hurricane Ian.
By the end of the night, it was Spieth and Thomas prevailing 3 and 2 after taking the lead early and never looking back after the latter went for a long birdie to win the second hole and hit the Michael Jordan shrug.
Ever the showman, Woods started things off with a birdie on the opening hole that was "smooth as a Tootsie Roll," but that would be the lone highlight for him on the night.
From there, Spieth and Thomas went on to combine for a few pars and two more birdies to finish off their opponents on the 10th hole.
There were some beautiful shots and competitive flourishes from the superstar quartet to the delight of fans, including JT's use of a 5-wood to make par on a 455-yard hole.
But as much as there was great action and gamesmanship on the links, it was the trash talk and other hilarious moments along the way that made this event must-see TV.
All four athletes traded barbs leading up to Saturday night, but the trolling really got underway during and after The Match.
"Hey Tiger and Rory...what happened?!?!" Spieth and Thomas joked on Twitter afterward.
"How do you lose to us two?" Spieth said.
It's all right...everybody does." JT added.
Probably the biggest burn was directed at Charles Barkley, the announcer for the night.
Barbs directed at Sir Charles is par for the course, considering everyone took a swipe before the match. That included Woods, who, when prompted with the question of "are you going to listen to Charles throughout the day or are you pretty much going to mute him?" responded with "if we had an option, we'd never listen to him."
Thomas has history with the Round Mound of Rebound, especially with Barkley, an Auburn alum, goading him about having attended "Alabama University," so it's no surprise the line of the night came from him.
"Chuck's looking at that moon like it's an Oreo," he said.
That was the best zinger on the night from JT, but it wasn't his only one.
Before the first drive, he made reference to toeing the line when it comes to Barkley and getting the adult beverage of choice on the course.
"If you call Charles Barkley a fat ass, they will not give you the drink that you requested on the golf course."
Not to be outdone, Barkley had some great color commentary of his own.
After McIIroy missed a birdie putt that would have cut the lead at the fifth hole, Barkley hilariously exhaled on behalf of his network TNT.
"Man, we needed that. We need this to go the full 12 holes. I mean TNT got another 795 commercials to run," he said.
Then there was Barkley's earlier dig at JT's nuptials.
"Best night of my life. I wish I could have it over again," Thomas said.
"Well, it's early. You could do it again," Barkley replied.
JT and Barkley's back-and-forth was the highlight of the whole event, but Spieth got in one last zinger before signing off.
After winning, he took a jab at Woods.
"The joy out of getting this does not match the joy of standing here with Tiger just being so upset that he has to stand here for this," he said.
Laughter aside, it was all for a great cause, adding more much-needed funds to the Hurricane Ian relief efforts in Florida.
After a night like that, fans likely can't wait for the next one.
Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth won the seventh edition of Capital One's The Match Saturday with a 3-and-2 victory over Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy at Pelican Golf Club in Belleair, Florida.
The superstar quartet enjoyed some evening golf during the 12-hole competition.
Thomas and Spieth took the lead and never looked back after JT drained a long birdie putt to win the second hole.
Spieth drained a 15-foot birdie putt on the next one to put his team two holes up.
The 455-yard par-four fourth hole featured the one-club challenge. Thomas took centerstage again by making par on a 455-yard hole using nothing but a 5-wood:
JT made an impressive two-putt thanks in part to Spieth and reporter Kathryn Tappen, who both helped lift a cable to get the ball onto the green.
He knocked in a six-footer from there.
Thomas was arguably the star of the show Saturday, as he also delivered the line of the night to Charles Barkley on the next hole.
Neither team won the fifth or sixth holes, but Woods and McIlroy got one back on the par-five seventh after the latter golfer knocked home a 20-foot birdie.
However, Thomas put Woods and McIlroy on the ropes by nailing a 12-foot birdie putt on the par-three eighth for the 3-up lead.
The ninth hole was a heartbreaker for Woods and McIlroy, who each had birdie chances from under 20 feet to win the hole. Neither shot dropped, though, and that duo found itself needing to win the final three holes just to tie.
McIlroy put his team in position to do just that with a birdie, but Spieth matched him to halve the hole and win the match.
Thomas, Spieth and McIlroy made their Match debuts. Woods had played twice, losing to Phil Mickelson in the inaugural competition before teaming with Peyton Manning to defeat Phil Mickelson and Tom Brady.
This year's matchup served to benefit Hurricane Ian relief efforts. The first six editions of The Match have combined to raise almost $33 million for a variety of charitable organizations. In addition, more than 27 million meals have been donated through Feeding America.
