Tiger Woods was all smiles Monday morning at Pinehurst as he practiced for this week’s U.S. Open with his 15-year-old son, Charlie.
Charlie, now out of school for the summer, walked along as his dad prepared at Pinehurst No. 2 in North Carolina, where Woods is set to tee off Thursday for the first time since missing the cut at last month’s PGA Championship in Louisville.
Woods — who postponed a Monday press conference until later in the week — played the practice round with Justin Thomas, Jordan Spieth and Rickie Fowler.
Woods, 48, is a three-time U.S. Open winner and was given a special exemption into the field.
It’s hard to imagine him being in contention this week as a litany of injuries have appeared to sap his ability to play at a high level while walking a course for four straight days.
He missed the cut at The Masters in April and withdrew from the Genesis Invitational in February due to the flu.
Woods, who has 15 career major titles, was hopeful after missing the cut at the PGA Championship that his game would turn around.
“I need to play more,’’ he said at the time. “Unfortunately, I just haven’t played a whole lot of tournaments, and [there are] not a whole lot of tournaments on my schedule, either. Hopefully, everything will somehow come together in my practice sessions at home and be ready for Pinehurst.
“Physically, I am better than I was [in April.] I still have more ways to go, lots of improvement to go physically, and hopefully my team and I can get that done pre-Pinehurst and going into it.’’
Woods last won a major at the 2019 Masters, which was his first major triumph since the 2008 U.S. Open at Torrey Pines.
