Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Tiger, Stevie Split; "Came As A Shock," Caddie Says

   Tiger Woods announced today that Steve Williams is no longer his caddie, ending their long relationship.

    The news, announced on Woods' website, didn't come as a complete surprise given Williams' recent working relationship with Adam Scott but it's another major change in Woods' career. Woods said he feels it's time for a change.

   "I want to express my deepest gratitude to Stevie for all his help, but i think it's time for a change," Woods said on his website. "Stevie is an outstanding caddie and a friend and has been instrumental in many of my accomplishments. I wish him great success in the future."

   Woods did not say who will be his caddie in the future when he returns to competitive golf. Woods has not played since withdrawing from The Players Championship in May while dealing with knee and Achilles issues. He has not indicated when he will return to the PGA Tour.

   With Woods sidelined, Williams began working for Scott at the U.S. Open last month and has stayed with the Australian star. He was surprised by the split with Woods.

   "Following the completion of the AT&T National (two weeks ago), I am no longer caddying for Tiger after he informed me that he needed to make a change," Williams said in a statement on his own website.

   "After 13 years of loyal service needless to say this came as a shock. Given the circumstances of the past 18 months working through Tiger's scandal, a new coach and with it a major swing change and Tiger battling through injuries, I am very disappointed to end our very successful partnership at this time.

   "I have had the opportunity to work with Australian Adam Scott and will now caddy for him on a permanent basis."

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

This slob has more problems than a new caddie will cure.

Anonymous said...

Go Stevie. Always a class act. This is great news for Adam Scott.

Anonymous said...

Darn. Thats shocking news.

Anonymous said...

Woods is running out of money. I wonder what he'll cut next?

Anonymous said...

I'm suprised this did not happen right after the scandal. If Tiger really wants to get better he needs to drop Barkley and Jordan too.

Golfsage said...

Tiger demands complete loyalty and seems to have none for others. He is becoming a very isolated person. Sort of like lonely Wilt.

freddy said...

Anon 4:31 says Williams has always been a class act. Hello, are you unaware of what he said about Mickelson a couple of years ago? When asked for a response, Phil simply said he was glad he had a class guy like Bones on his bag. And he was right.

Williams and Woods would seem to deserve each other. But Tiger's notorious for cutting anyone off who displeases him or borrows any reflected light from his aura (just ask Fluff). Stevie must not have been publicly fawning enough to please the Great One. In any event, he's made so much money he never has to schlep a golf bag again if he doesn't want to. But he appears to want to.