Tiger Woods and his son Charlie Woods got here tantalizingly near claiming victory on the 2024 PNC Championship however had been edged out in a dramatic playoff by Bernhard Langer and his son Jason Langer. Regardless of Staff Woods’ robust displaying, the defeat has sparked controversy, with the golf neighborhood questioning the legitimacy of the Langers’ victory.
The 36-hole scramble event on the Ritz-Carlton Golf Membership concluded with each Staff Woods and Staff Langer tied at a 15-under 57, forcing a sudden-death playoff. On the ultimate gap, Bernhard Langer performed from a ahead tee, a transfer permitted by event guidelines.
Tiger Woods greater than emotional and speechless after his son Charlie’s gap in a single
Each groups reached the inexperienced, organising similar-length eagle putts. The Langers sank their putt, securing the win and relegating the Woods duo to a heart-wrenching second-place end.
Nonetheless, what ought to have been a celebratory second for the Langers rapidly turned contentious as accusations of rule-bending started to flow into on-line.
Accusations of dishonest
Golf followers took to social media to specific their skepticism about Langer‘s ways throughout the playoff. Paolo Uggetti, a journalist, fueled the controversy by posting a zoomed-in picture of Langer‘s ball on the course, suggesting that he might have teed up his ball in a bunker to realize a bonus.
“I do know it is scramble guidelines, however we have to have a dialog about Langer actually teeing up his ball within the bunker so he might hit driver! The zoom-in digicam did him no favors,” Uggetti wrote on X.
The golf neighborhood rapidly piled on, accusing Langer of exploiting guidelines to his profit. Feedback ranged from light-hearted jabs to outright accusations.
“He is mainly a cheater… why do not individuals already know this?” a person wrote.
One other added: “He is all the time been on the sting kinda man. I nonetheless do not like how shut he ‘would not’ anchor his putter.”
The incident has reignited reminiscences of previous controversies involving Langer, together with a dispute throughout a Ryder Cup match the place his ball was close to a water hazard.
Critics alleged he had improperly grounded his membership, although no formal penalty was issued.
