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Steve Williams became the focal point of the week’s WGC Bridgestone Invitational after Adam Scott claimed the winner’s trophy and his first World Golf Championship title on Sunday. Williams was fired by former world number one Tiger Woods amid a storm of controversy and speculation as to how and why it happened. Williams was quick to point out that he was far from happy with his dismissal and remind the audience that he is a world class caddie and that his record speaks for itself.
I have no problem with a Steve Williams and I think that he is one of the best caddies in the game but to say that this week’s win on Adam Scott’s bag was the “greatest win” of his career is a joke! It was clear that his comment was a not so subtle dig at Tiger Woods made by a disgruntled employee. Williams made sure that he took full advantage of his newfound fame and in front of the cameras he went on and on about his 145 career wins and his 31 years of caddying for the best players in the game. However, he failed to mention that 72 of those wins were with one player, Tiger Woods. That equates to 49 percent of his wins including 13 majors.
Anyone in the golf business knows that the caddie player relationship can be a unique and dynamic one. Most players and caddies have a verbal agreement as it relates to their tenure on the bag. So if things aren’t working out a caddie knows that he can be let go at any time and Steve Williams is no different. During his time with Tiger, Steve became a very popular and wealthy man and Woods benefited from his experience and knowledge as a caddie and as a friend. However, launching verbal jabs in the media is poor way of showing his displeasure with his firing.
I walked inside the ropes for the entire 2008 U.S. Open at Torrey Pines with Williams and Woods and in my mind it stands out as one the greatest performance by a single athlete in any sport. So it’s inconceivable that Williams actually considers this week’s win with Adam Scott as the greatest of his career. I spoke to several caddies and players alike at the PGA Championship and almost everyone I spoke to agreed that Steve William’s comments are completely without foundation.
I can't ever remember Williams ever granting a post round interview while he was Tiger’s caddie. The unwritten but well known rule is that Tiger is the only person that speaks publicly in his world about his affairs. But now that Steve has some breathing room,he has decided to make up for lost time by throwing Tiger Woods under the bus. I guess the best time to kick a man is when he is down and this is a perfect example of that.
The sad part of this entire story is that Adam Scott got lost in the shuffle. Scott played a brilliant round of golf on Sunday and won the tournament by 4 shots. Scott was reduced to a footnote on Sunday by his caddie and I don’t remember Steve hitting a single shot or draining a crucial putt.
I have no problem with a Steve Williams and I think that he is one of the best caddies in the game but to say that this week’s win on Adam Scott’s bag was the “greatest win” of his career is a joke! It was clear that his comment was a not so subtle dig at Tiger Woods made by a disgruntled employee. Williams made sure that he took full advantage of his newfound fame and in front of the cameras he went on and on about his 145 career wins and his 31 years of caddying for the best players in the game. However, he failed to mention that 72 of those wins were with one player, Tiger Woods. That equates to 49 percent of his wins including 13 majors.
Anyone in the golf business knows that the caddie player relationship can be a unique and dynamic one. Most players and caddies have a verbal agreement as it relates to their tenure on the bag. So if things aren’t working out a caddie knows that he can be let go at any time and Steve Williams is no different. During his time with Tiger, Steve became a very popular and wealthy man and Woods benefited from his experience and knowledge as a caddie and as a friend. However, launching verbal jabs in the media is poor way of showing his displeasure with his firing.
I walked inside the ropes for the entire 2008 U.S. Open at Torrey Pines with Williams and Woods and in my mind it stands out as one the greatest performance by a single athlete in any sport. So it’s inconceivable that Williams actually considers this week’s win with Adam Scott as the greatest of his career. I spoke to several caddies and players alike at the PGA Championship and almost everyone I spoke to agreed that Steve William’s comments are completely without foundation.
I can't ever remember Williams ever granting a post round interview while he was Tiger’s caddie. The unwritten but well known rule is that Tiger is the only person that speaks publicly in his world about his affairs. But now that Steve has some breathing room,he has decided to make up for lost time by throwing Tiger Woods under the bus. I guess the best time to kick a man is when he is down and this is a perfect example of that.
The sad part of this entire story is that Adam Scott got lost in the shuffle. Scott played a brilliant round of golf on Sunday and won the tournament by 4 shots. Scott was reduced to a footnote on Sunday by his caddie and I don’t remember Steve hitting a single shot or draining a crucial putt.
Adam Scott is one of the nicest and most mild mannered players on tour and I am sure that the media attention directed to Steve Williams doesn’t really bother him, but I will be the first to say that I don’t think that having a star caddy is a good thing in the long run. Steve’s post round comments were classless and rude plain and simple.
Edward Wanambwa
http://www.golfwriter.com/
Edward Wanambwa
http://www.golfwriter.com/
Well put Ed. Go figure, where did Stevie get his popularity? Tiger. Now he's getting post round interviews. Come on. As one of the Tweets stated, "What Time is Steve Williams teeing off on Thursday?"
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