Five wins in the first seven stagings of what was then called the Father/Son Challenge – the first three with son Raymond and the following two with son Robert – had set a target many thought would never be caught for Raymond Floyd.
But in a year where several other records fell to Bernhard Langer, he ended the year by tying another as he and son Jason walked away with the title at the now titled PNC Championship at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club in Orlando after a blistering final round 13-under 59. Thanks in no small measure to the younger of the two Langers, they reached the clubhouse at -25, enjoying a stress-free walk up the final hole.
“Just it’s always special whether you win or not, just being here is like the Olympics. They only take 20 teams and there’s probably 25 on the waiting list that would love to be here,” Bernhard said after the round. “It’s always a wonderful thing to get an invitation to come and play here, and as you all know, I’ve got four kids, played with all four of them, and we have a lot of wonderful memories.
Langer won with his eldest son, Stefan, in 2005 and 2006, and this was his third success alongside Jason, having won in 2014, 2019 and now 2023.
“It was a ton of fun. I said it earlier, but I don’t get to play as much golf anymore, and I don’t get to see my parents and my family quite as much anymore,” Jason, who works on Wall Street in New York added. “To be able to play golf as a family and in a beautiful spot and great competition and play a really good golf course, it’s amazing.”
Former world number one David Duval and his son, Brady, finished second at 23-under, while defending champions Vijay and Qass Singh finished third at 22-under.
“This is by far the best week of the year, this is the week that you’re just hoping for that invite every single year,” said Brady. “I’m very thankful to have the invite and I’m thankful for everybody here. It was an absolute blast out there. If we got it a little closer on a few holes and gave ourselves a couple better chances, we would have had a pretty good chance at winning this year.
“It’s the best golfing week of the year,” David chimed in with. “You’re on pins and needles come — once August kind of rolls around, hoping to see that e-mail from Alastair with the invite. I think certainly with the majority of folks who play at our age, it’s the most coveted invite in golf, as well, and I think as you could argue, it’s the hardest field to get into.
“To be asked to come back and participate, it’s a dream come true every year it happens.”
Event headliners Tiger and Charlie Woods finished T5 at 19-under after an 11-under final round, while Padraig Harrington and youngest son Ciaran finished T19 at -7 after struggling in the early stages on day two of the competition.
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