The PNC Championship, or ‘The Tournament Tiger and Charlie play in’ is coming back this Friday and Saturday at the Ritz Carlton, Orlando. Formerly known as the Father/Son Challenge, the PNC Championship has, over the last two years, been like an early Christmas present for sicko golf fans around the world. But before we get to why that is, let’s talk about what the PNC is. It’s a two-day tournament where teams made up of one PGA/LPGA player that won either a major, or the Players and one of their family members partner up for a 36 hole scramble. It’s the closest YouTube golf and the PGA come to merging in terms of talent and format. Teams include: John Daly and his son, John Daly, Annika Sorenstam and her 12 year old son Will McGee (who by the way hit a hole in one in yesterday’s practice round), Justin Thomas and his dad Mike, Vijay Singh and his son Qass, and oh yeah, Tiger Woods and his son Charlie. They’re the main draw of this event and pretty much the sole reason most fans will be tuning in to watch this weekend. They are currently listed as betting favorites alongside the Thomas’ and the Strickers at +500. 

Look, I’m not gonna beat around the bush on this one. There's one bet for the tournament that ensures you’ll actually get your money’s worth out of the viewing experience; Tiger and Charlie Woods. They’ve come damn close before, coming in 2nd place behind John and John Daly, and were hot on the trail in last year’s tourney before Charlie began suffering from an ankle injury and they lost steam. Tiger’s looking bulkier than he’s ever looked, smashing several drives over 350 at the Hero World Challenge. And for his part, Charlie has proven himself to be a rising star in the national junior golf scene, winning a West Coast High School Tournament with Tiger as his caddy. But if that’s not good enough, here’s two more reasons why you should consider placing a bet on them to win it all. 1) No matter if they’re playing out of their minds or right out of the garbage can, they will get the most coverage. And, in a tournament like this, there’s certainly no guarantee of equal coverage, even for the leaders. Vijay and Qass Singh won last year by shooting two consecutive 59’s. But by the TV coverage, it would have been obvious to think the Woods’ and Thomas’ were the only ones even playing. 2) Just for a moment, you’ll get the chance to bet on Tiger, before a tournament starts, and know that he’s actually got a shot to win the damned thing. An invested viewing in a round of Tiger Woods golf is like nothing else. I still have a friend who won’t shut up about putting a hundred bucks on him before the 2018 Tour Championship even began. This tournament isn’t that, but it might be the closest we get until a longshot at the Masters. 

While Tiger and Charlie will undoubtedly get the most attention this week, the other teams will certainly be putting up some low scores as well. Steve Stricker and daughter Izzi have also been listed as pre-tournament favorites, even with this being their debut to this event. Izzi, a 17 year old golfing phenom out of Wisconsin is certainly a capable partner for the hottest golfer on the champions tour this season. Steve Stricker took home an incredible three of four senior majors this year on the Champions Tour, coming in second place in the 4th. It certainly makes sense for them to be included in the favorites. Yet, I think the odds of them winning in their tournament debut are slightly lower, regardless of their recent accomplishments. Right behind the favorites group are the Daly boys at +550. We all know John Daly, and have been impressed with some of his recent performances (and continued health), but John Jr. is a standout college golfer for the Arkansas Razorbacks. They won in 2021 and came in second last year, but they aren’t the most valuable bet on the board this year in my opinion. 

There are two other teams that I think would represent the best relative value in this tournament from a betting perspective. Firstly, Vijay and Qass Singh are currently listed at +1000 odds, a line I find moderately disrespectful towards last year’s winners. Mostly because by no means was last year a fluke. They worked their way into 6th place in 2019, 2nd place in 2020, and 5th place in 2021 before winning it all last year. A repeat is a longer shot, but certainly possible for the Singhs. The other team that seems to offer the best value proposition is the Langers at +2500. Bernhard and his son Jason won the event in 2019, and finished 5th last year; finishing 12th in ‘20 and not competing in ‘21. Jason was a collegiate golfer at UPenn before graduating last year, perhaps not a college superstar, but certainly a capable golfer. And Bernhard’s still got it, as well, being the only man not named Steve Stricker to win a major on the Champions tour this year. They have as good a chance as anyone at winning this thing. So maybe if you have a good feeling about them, or you’re ready to take a big swing on the precision German engineering golf machine, they stand the best chance at netting your biggest return.

Take a quick look at the leaderboards of today’s pro-am and see who you find the most value in. Don’t be surprised if it ends up being the Woods, the Singhs or the Langers. As for me, I’ll be throwing a few bucks on Tiger and Charlie, cracking a cold one or two and sticking around my TV this weekend hoping for a brief snippet of that old Tiger magic. Who knows? Maybe he’ll help earn me a nice little early Christmas present if they win.