91Èȱ¬

Having secured a fantastic victory on his first outing as Caddie with Scott, all the viewers were keenly aware of the significance of it, and the implied "two fingers" it gave to Tiger, and, as has been said, the crowd were really rooting for him.

He definitely spoilt it though... there was no need to be so explicit in his comments - he could have been much more humble about the whole thing and I am sure he would have emerged with a lot more credit than he has done (I see quite a few Pros are criticising his outbursts on twitter). Of course, it is Tiger that has made Steve's career (and most of his money), not the other way round.

The one person though, who wont mind, is Adam Scott. I imagine he will probably find the furore slightly amusing... I dont see him as a vain character who will be upset that he wasnt 100% in the limelight (Aussies generally are not that way in my experience), he will brush it off and move on knowing that he has a great caddie on his bag.

What a joke this all this. Williams is a caddie for God's sake. Players and caddies swap around all the time. This guy makes millions of dollars carrying the clubs of Woods. Doesn't hit a shot and never talks to the media and then has the temerity to squawk like a stuck pig when Woods makes a decision to go another route.

This is the same guy who wouldn't give you the time of day if you asked for an autograph.

Stick to carrying the clubs Steve. The rest is out of your pay grade.

Yep #2, he really does come across as an absolute Rodney!

soccerlimey is spot on. couldn't have said it better myself. This guy should be down on his hands and knees grovelling and thanking Tiger for securing his future and the future of his family for generations.

This wasn't his first outing with Scott. Williams had caddied for Scott previously this year.

And he has just proved how little class he has.

Well done to Scott

Steve Williams did a great job for Scott, just as he did for Woods for so long.

The problem is that he did himself an even bigger diservice when giving his interview. There were probably a number of factors involved in that, including a desire to have a go at Woods and the desire of the media for a "story". After all, we all know that the media have noses more finely tuned to "a story" than a sharks nose is sensitive to the smell of blood.

Why were the golf fans so "behind" Steve? After all, he is "just" a caddie. Maybey they were only too happy for it to be shown, once again, that while "Tiger" may once have been a great golfer (now merely "good") he has again displayed the fact that as a human being he is way out of the rankings.

The golfer may "do the work" but it is very difficult for any golfer to perform consisently without the backing of a ggod caddie. They need to be a "team" and the caddie needs to understand his employer and how to "manage" him / her. A caddie does far more than simply carrying a bag. Even as a very average amateur I have seen how my performance can be affected - both for better or worse - depending on who has my bag.

Steve, learn to shut it and get on with your job, yeah? Your abilities will speak for you far more loudly, mate.

I see a great combination forming between Williams and Scott, if Williams put a certain Mr Woods out of his mind and concentrates on the job at hand.

As for the once great Tiger, nobody really expected any different from him, did they? Honestly?

He has continually shown his sulky, self-centered and unapprecative side, tripping on his bottom lip and slamming his clubs when things do not go "his way", and is not exactly the poster child for loyalty either.

While he may have enough money for his great great grandkids to never need to work (okay, maybe only half that now but still enough) Steve does not.

Tiger may be coining it from those sponsors who stuck buy him while relaxing at home, but Williams needs to carry a bag to be earning. Yet his loyalty over the past 18 months is clearly unappreciated !

Glad to see Williams and Scott winning, and long may their success continue. As for Woods, I wondr how many caddies, coaches and girlfriends he will get through in the next 4 years?

I wonder when he will tell us that HE KNEW ALL ALONG ..... haha! ... they should get back together .. they deserve eachother .. lovely guys both !

i dont like Steve Williams one bit.
Westwood is a choker and always will be. Pure Monty #2.
Rory McIlroy and Jason Day are two of the best golfers to come along for years.

I am no tiger woods fan but the amount of hate displayed against him in these blogs is incredible. What has he done to generate it.

Its strange, the guy looks like he is being hounded out of golf, I see parrallels in a reduced sense with the hate eventually heaped on other sportsmen e.g. John Barnes, Chris Eubank, Frank Bruno, OJ simpson, Mike Tyson the list goes on. This is direct in contrast to the reverance afforded to the flawed geniuses such as George Best, Gazza and others who were serial drunks, womanisers and wife beaters.

Steve Williams should move on, it seems everybody else has. Kicking Tiger when he is down smacks of biting the hand that fed you banquets for years and years. Is he angry that he's been fired or in the manner of his firing. In my personal experiance ther is no good way to get fired whether its face to face, letter, email or textbut in the real world we have to get over it.

Come on people, use all seem to be overlooking this hole wonderful drama being played out. Steve Williams like all of us is living in his own fish bowl and we really should appreciate his brutal honesty. He was once NZ richest sportsman, I some how don't think he is thinking of money to much these days.
I like most people prefer Adam Scott to go on to bigger and better things as oppose to the Tiger pounce and swipe at Steve Williams on his way back to the top.
Watch out Steve I imagine the claws are sharp.

@ no9. "I am no tiger woods fan but the amount of hate displayed against him in these blogs is incredible. What has he done to generate it." This is a joke, correct?

What has he done to be hated? Well if biffing as many seedy women as you can whilst your wife is at home pregnant doesn't do it then I don't know what does.

You might want to check your moral compass is still spinning if you think any of what he has reportedly done doesn't merit a degree of hatred.

Oh dear Mr Carter... no mention of the fact that Williams may have been told to keep silent for the past 13 years by 'Team Tiger' and now has the chance to cast off the shackles? Surely anyone in his situation would have done the same.
I thought the important parts of his comments were the fact he kept reiterating how much he'd enjoyed himself this week... Obviously better than following a guy round who has the weight of the PGA on his shoulders. (There may be no USA players in the world's top ten by the end of the year!)
If Woods really has shafted him, by dropping him like a stone with no prior warning, then i'm completely behind Williams.
Also, it may be that this is what Scott needs - a lack of attention on his own game may help going into the next event... unless he gets paired with Woods for the opening round on Thursday!

Anyone that says "just carrying clubs" (or words to that effect) obviously has no understanding of pro-golf and really has no valid opinion on this story! You ask any golfer (as mentioned in the article) and the caddy is way more than just a 'mule'!
Williamson is not the most 'personal' character in the world, but there are plenty of other sportsmen who aren't! he does an excellent job, and I'm sure that when he was 'released' by Woods he had plenty of golfers bidding for his services!

If Jean van der Veld had Steve Williams on his bag standing on the 18th tee on that final day in the Open he'd be the Champion Golfer of the year. True or false?

I think it's great that Steve Williams gave the interview. I don't agree with everything he said, and he didn't give Tiger Woods the respect he deserves, but it was good to hear his point of view.
There are a lot of good golf players out there, but not as many good caddies, and a player needs a good caddie to raise his game to a level where he is a complete winner. Tiger wouldn't have won as many competitions if he didn't have Williams caddying for him. He would have won a lot, and would still have been No1 in the world for all those years, but the caddie always plays an important role.

So Steve Williams deserved his chance to give an interview (since Tiger wouldn't allow him too). Shame that he blew it though.

I wonder how many workers who have given good and faithful service, only to be peremptorily dismissed without cause by their employer, would have liked to have the opportunity to air his/her grievance in public. Good for Williams, a stand on behalf of all us little people.

chrisironside. Err.... sorry don't get your point so I must therefore not have a moral compass. Ha, Ha, why don't you save it for church on Sunday.

Do you know anything about TW or SW other than what you read in the media or on blogs. Who are you to pontificate about another persons morals.

Of course if you are god, allah or whatever please accept my profund apologies.

Williams is a legend in his own mind! Having seen him up close working for Woods, he is nothing more than an aggressive, arrogant thug - akin to a nightclub bouncer - with an over-inflated impression of his own importance. He carries golf clubs for a living for god's sake. He would do well to keep his mouth firmly shut and say his prayer's every night and thank the Lord for ever meeting Tiger Woods. He's made him a very rich man. And I'm no fan of Tiger Woods.

Steve Williams needs to wind his neck in a bit.

I think the thing about him being New Zealand's richest sportsman may be an urban myth ( although he was probably pretty close admittedly ).

In the days before we knew of Tiger's extra-curricular activities the blunt Williams was probably the best safety valve for Woods - allowing him to be rude to fans and disrespectful to other professionals by proxy. Williams wouldn't have stayed with so driven a perfectionist as Woods without having some qualities redeeming or otherwise.

That he has switched to another who has had some success suggests that some of Williams' qualities may be redeeming.

But he still must do a bit of neck windery.

@HotdogSalesman, your comment 'While he may have enough money for his great great grandkids to never need to work (okay, maybe only half that now but still enough) Steve does not' surprises me completely.

How can Steve NOT have enough money for his grandkids? In 2001 he was reportedly THE highest paid 'sportsman' in New Zeland. Tiger has won at least 2 Ford Invitationals at Dorral and each time Steve has walked away with a brand new Ford GT because of Tiger's sponsorship with Buick and due to Steve carrying Tiger's bag he got a sponsorship from Nike at that time.

Steve has done pretty well from their partnership and really didn't need to stoop to Tiger's level. He would have gained far wider respect by shutting his trap and leaving Adam Scott to bask in the glory of a fine victory.

Caddys probably add 5% to a player....If I had caddied for Adam Scott at the weekend he probably would have won only by 1. Steve Williams needs to get out of his high superstar tree and come back down to earth.

You carry a bag and give yardages...Im not saying its easy but I could be come a professional Caddy with 3 months intense training....it takes probably 15 years intense practising to become a professional golfer!

Wake up Williams and spell the overpaid cheque your getting everyweek.

Your = belonging to you
You're = you + are

I would expect better from the 91Èȱ¬

Oh, and Steve Williams needs a reality check. Woods probably fired him because it was impossible to sustain a relationship between an employer with an ego the size of Woods' and an employee with an ego of the same or even greater magnitude

Nice article Iain. Good use of Wikipedia.

Apropos Williams and his undeniable ego got me thinking; Do you think they way he conducts himself could intimidate opponents? Maybe Tiger's record against all those opponents on those Sunday afternoons is partly down to Stevie?

You can't deny that Williams is good at what he does, and I can't help but think all this mouthing off is building anticipation for his forthcoming book nicely.

This comment has been referred for further consideration. Explain.

Steve shouldn't have done what he did, people can and would have easily made their judgements about what a great influence he had been for Adam Scott, he didn't need to do an interview and overshadow just about Adam Scott's finest moment to date (along with the Players Championship).

One other thing, I'm just glad to see a golf blog that isn't about Rory McIlroy for once, he is my favourite golfer but he was getting far to much coverage on every decision he made.

just waiting for JayTownsend to advise Rory to take on Stevie , lets see the fireworks on twitter for that one.
could be on the cards. afterall wee mac dumped his squeeze at the first sign of a famous blond looking at him sidways.. maybe weemac is the next Tiger..

Caddies are no coaches, express an opinion if asked, they help carry the bags and they don't swing or strike the ball. That's all done by the golfer. Thanks Steve for enlightening us on the role you played in Scott's win. Looks like only Tiger was able to curb this caddie's ego and now that he is let loose, more dribble can be expected.

No9 Lesmow
"I see parrallels in a reduced sense with the hate eventually heaped on other sportsmen e.g. John Barnes, Chris Eubank, Frank Bruno, OJ simpson, Mike Tyson the list goes on."
Does your list consist of only black people?? Do you think anybody who doesn't have a problem with Williams is racist?

Can Williams back it up this week, though? - snaffling these two big ones on the bounce is notoriously difficult. Even Stevie himself back in 2009, having won the Bridgestone (by 4 shots funnily enough, just like this year) ... even the tried-and-tested winning machine that is SW blew it at the PGA despite leading into the final day. All caught up with him, I guess.

So, no, on balance I'm looking elsewhere for my bet. Billy Foster @ 12/1 looks decent value, as does 'Bones' MacKay @ 25's, but the standout for me is Donald @ 33/1. I sense it may finally be Christian's time (he's paid his dues, let's face it) and that's where my money is going.

It was a superb win for Adam Scott and I think he'll have another good week in Atlanta, although I don't think that he'll win. I expect the top players to really contend this week, with McIlroy, Westwood and Donald all showing good form at Firestone.

And someone like Stricker or Kuchar could have a great chance, with their consistent play extremely advantageous on such a narrow course.

And of course, Tiger could be right up there if he can drive the ball a bit straighter, with the same going for Mickelson.

RORY TO WIN!!!

This is the same Steve Williams who had to be asked by GMac to put his bib back on at The Chevron in December 2010.

So if Steve Williams caddied for me I would win on the pga tour? Don't think so.

Adam Scott + Broom handle putter = 25 putts a round

I can tell you as a PGA pro that a good caddy is priceless, but at the end of the day it's the players who have to hit the ball. All top caddies know their jobs are up early every day mapping greens and walking courses and can read the wind & read putts, but the great caddies can help there players get in the right frame and stay focused that is really only achieved over time and getting to know each other. And as for Jean van der Veld, well his caddie begged him to take an iron for position on the 18th and also begged him to wedge sideways with his 2nd there was no changing his mind.

Whilst he may come across as a conceited backside you cannot argue with his experience. You may underestimate the role of the caddie, he is at the players side all of the time advising all the time and keeping the player positive about the round. Lets see how Adam does in the PGA.

Its not ideal the way that Tiger left him hanging for a year or two before giving him the push but surely he realises how fortunate he was to caddie for Tiger for such a length of time.

He's made millions of pounds for doing rleatively little. I'm sure he's a good caddie and i don't want to underestimate their roles but he'll have earned at least twice what any other caddie has in that same period of time.

@ 33

Yes, the putting, I agree.

Hate seeing the 'broom handle' though - not sure it should be allowed. No player has ever won a major with one and I hope that continues.

It was just a little coincidental fad and the crowd were probably beered and happy to cheer because of his association with woods as his departure from him.Emotional bandwagon stuff but trust me when woods wins again (which I hope he will) there will be many a person cheering and alot of you bloggers jumping onto his bandwagon that day too.Williams is a self indulgent,classless,disloyal decent caddie who in time I have no doubt will get the ultimate payback to woods by selling some trashy book of his tenure with TW.What has woods really done wrong btw all you self righteous moral high ground numpties ever really done? Played away with some females, divorced and a dip in form? Hardly unique and I bet my life that a decent % casting judgement on the guy would invariably be tempted to go off the rails a bit if you had his closeted,controlled upbringing and then landed on a couple of billion dollars and alot of female attention.He ain't no yorkshire ripper guys so go easy.

PS I write this stuff in transit and don't profess to be a grammatically correct,proof reading shakespearean,I am sure you get the gist

No9 lesmow "I'm no Tiger Woods fan".
Every one of your posts is about him, at least the last eight are, I got bored reading after that. You defend him as a person, his major record and even his Ryder Cup record. You are clearly obsessed with the guy.

Presumably you are a teenager with posters of him on your wall. If not, I worry about you.

I get @9s point more than I get @40.
Whole lot of hypocrisy floats about.Woods had mistresses and crashed his car into his own driveway I do believe.The wife gets a small fortune of a payout and is now happy with some other billionaire.
@9 you see gazza is a cheeky english chappy who smacked his wife relentlessly I again do believe but is a great guy.
John Terry captains the english football team and slept with his friends wife I do believe? blah blah blah...and believe me there are alot of sporting blahs from all classes of sport,not just working class.!
I think TW has paid his dues (literally also) @40 and I do not have any posters of the guy, I am merely being devils advocate or trying to be.
What TW does in his personal life should be up to him asides from the image sponsors,the worst thing has done on the course is be aloof and spit in Dubai on the green.

A caddy can make a significant difference to a player.
But Williams has proved he has no class whatsoever and I hope that Scott sacks him soon as he cannot be happy about his employees antics which equate to childish behaviour.
Woods made Williams a fortune and as such he should be thankful.
Who ever heard of Williams before Woods?

41 but what is your point? Are you seriously suggesting people s feelings towards Tiger are racially motivated? Are you supporting no9s sympathy for OJ Simpson.

You bring up Gazza and no9 brings up Frank Bruno. Both beat their wives, yet Bruno is still held in high esteem by most and regularly appears on TV.

Fed up of people playing the race card. Grow up.

@43 With the greatest respect (and I am doing my best here) but if you read what I said there is not one single letter of relevance to racism so not getting you there.
I merely point out that there is alot of hypocrisy in the casting of judgement on sports stars and I am entitled to my opinion that TW has copped his quota of grief, am I not? If you don't agree, that is ok, but getting into racism and 'growing up' is personal and insulting which I will not partake in.
For future reference I advise you read the detail of a blog before going 'all in' and my point was general and I have no empathy whatsoever for OJ simpson in the same way I have no special accommodation for a Joey Barton or a pakistani cricketer etc...
In life you deserve a second chance (within reason) and I finish by saying that I feel TW has 'paid his dues' unlike OJ for the record.

good thread guys...makes interesting reading...for what it's worth, here's my view...

Williams should get his prayer mat out every night, point it in the direction of whichever God he believes in, and say a prayer of gratitude for having had the opportunity to work FOR Tiger, not WITH Tiger...he's a caddie for God's sake...no more, no less

I'm no fan of Tiger's BUT, in my book, he's one of the 10 greatest golfers that ever lived and would have achieved his success even with Daffy Duck on the bag

any clown could become another Steve Williams but you'll need to be a bit special to become another Tiger

think about Ben Hogan, Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player, Arnold Palmer, Seve [RIP], Tom Watson et al...are we saying their caddies were responsible for their success? - give me a break...these guys were GIANTS and would have been equally gigantic if they'd had to pull a trolley!

as for Adam Scott...seems like a nice guy but, so long as he wields that broomstick, I hope he NEVER wins a major! - shouldn't be allowed...make me the Sepp Blatter of world golf and I'll ban them in 10 minutes flat!

yes, Jean v d Velde blew it at Carnoustie but he had spirit! - where does Peter Alliss get off patronising him? - when did Alliss ever finish runner-up in The Open? - I'd rather follow JvdV around a golf course and watch him shoot 100 than follow some of today's characterless pros around and watch them shoot par

finally, re Westwood...agree with the blogger who called Westwood a choker...he's probably the best each-way bet in world golf but he just ain't got the bottle to get the job done in a Major...and I don't care whether he's got BILLY Foster or JODIE Foster on the bag!

fellow golfers - enjoy your good shots, accept we're all gonna hit bad shots but, above all...ENJOY!...this is just a game...look around you at what's going on in the world...let's keep this in perspective!

To no.42

"Who ever heard of Williams before Woods?"

I certainly had, he caddied for Ray Floyd and Greg Norman when Norman was number 1 in the world, so he has pedigree.

These people who caddies just carry clubs etc really don't know what they are talking about.
Say what you like about Tiger, but as always he doesn't wash his dirty laundry in public, being nothing but complimentary about Williams (whilst probably cursing him in private). Perhaps Williams should do the same and learn some humility along the way.
Biggest winner in all of this is Adam Scott, who posesses one of the best swings in the game and I hope he goes on to bigger and better things

I think caddies with big egos have no place in golf. Steve Williams has a lot of experience, but most of that is due to being Tiger Woods caddie and experiencing winning so often with the world best golfer. What came first the golfer or the caddie. Regarding Scott's win. The stats were showing that his form was getting better with the long putter and the weekend was the culmination of that form. Adam is also incredibly good at golf, perhaps a forgotten man, but incredibly tallented. Steve should go back to what he does best and carry 50lbs of metal 4 miles for a few days each week.

Adam Scott has always been a class act waiting to happen and give him a bernie langer broom and take away the baggage of Anna Ivanovic & hey presto.
The USPGA is mouthwatering.If Rory gets hot,he wins as he can play 'lights out golf' but I fancy Jason Day or Dustin Johnson.They are major champs in the making but who knows if this is their turn,just a feeling in my water??!!!I wish I did know though!

Not wanting to hog this (why so few golf blogs of note and no ken brown predictions in major week) but allegedly TW is some preposterous price at some bookies - 25/1 or whatever.I am not a betting man but those odds are plain silly as he could click at any moment.

I really dislike Williams. Mostly because of his very agressive face for no reason when he is pushing through people.
On a lighter note 'Bones' Micklesons caddy once pushed my brother away at the Open Championship. He was right to do it though and it was done in good spirits.
Bones is a great guy.
Williams is a terrible guy.

i think steve williams is class at his job and thats what he should be judged on BiloMcT, not how agressive his face looks!

Is BiloMct having a laugh here!! Steve Williams carried Woods for years until Woods went off the rails because he couldnt cope with Stevo's Popularity!! Its not his fault hes not good looking! And as for "Bones" he's been stealing a living for years and doesnt deserve the title "Caddie"

I have read with interest the blog and I have never participated before but felt compelled to do so on this subject. When Woods was at his peak I was never a great fan. A superb golfer of course but his attitude seemed to be lacking. Having witnessed his troubles through the press I now have some sympathy for him as he seems to be classed as worse than Sadam Hussein and Hitler put together, the fact is he was over praised in his peak and massively over criticised in his fall. It must have been very difficult to avoid temptation when it was so easy for him. How many guys in his position could do so? Very few I think if they are honest with themselves. His ex caddie on the other hand seems to be a thoroughly unpleasant and arrogant bore, he was not Tiger the nº 1 golfer in the world but just a caddie, the technical aspects of being a caddie could probably be learnt in a few days but the bonding between the player and his caddie is of course different and that's where the real skill is. I believe Woods would have won as much with any half decent caddie as his talent was awesome at his peak and probbalt didn't need a great deal of help in that regard. I think Phil Mickelson summed up Willliams best after Williams had referred to him as a p**** in an after dinner speech. He simply said "I'm just glad I have a class act like bones on my bag". What a great put down and sums it up i.e. he's just not even worth replying to. Now that would be an interesting three ball this week - Scott, Mickleson and Woods, I bet Williams would wake up sweating that day!!

#52 Sumo 82....i do think Williams is a good caddy, just a terrible person. Leave 'Bones' alone mickysausage....he's a class act

BiloMcT, do you know Williams personally? No, i didn't think so. Anyway Willie McTernan is the best caddy thats ever held a bag

Alot of mickys on this blog!!!Liking and agreeing with mickythegolfer but not in tandem with mickysausage.The fact that so much discussion is about the bagman/caddie is a tad ott.We'll see how long this elevated ego of SW lasts cause a missed cut is round the cornera then what will people say?And I am sure TW is chomping to win for karma after firestone,it will happen a win that is,sooner rather than later.I get these guys are important for yards,temperament,course knowledge etc.. but when the buck stops,it is the player.I could have SW,Billy Foster,bones and the whole lot of them but I am still useless.Swing,execution & 'seeing it' are for the player,not the caddie.

PS Before anyone says, I KNOW TW will not win this weekend.But soon.

#9 wrote
"I am no tiger woods fan but the amount of hate displayed against him in these blogs is incredible. What has he done to generate it.

Its strange, the guy looks like he is being hounded out of golf, I see parrallels in a reduced sense with the hate eventually heaped on other sportsmen e.g. John Barnes, Chris Eubank, Frank Bruno, OJ simpson, Mike Tyson the list goes on. This is direct in contrast to the reverance afforded to the flawed geniuses such as George Best, Gazza and others who were serial drunks, womanisers and wife beaters."

I hope your post is a poor attempt at irony. After all, apart from being a convicted rapist who bit an opponents ear, what did Mike Tyson do to deserve such hate. Leaving aside the debate about whether OJ actually killed his wife, he is currently serving a prison sentence for armed robbery. I am not sure that John Barnes was ever a figure of hate, and Bruno was a mediocre sportsman who got far more popularity than he ever deserved, so the only person in your list who was unfairly treated is Chris Eubank, who apart from being arrogant, did nothing wrong.

The hate directed at Tiger Woods is mostly because of his lack of morals, and is well deserved. Spitting on the greens did little to help his reputation, and neither did sacking his caddy.

Just a question regarding caddies. Would Mcllroy still have played his ill-advised 7-iron yesderday if Williams or Foster had been carrying his bag, or would they have suggested that chipping out sideways was a better option?

It is a hypothetical question, and of course Mcllroy is by nature an aggresive player and it is easy to make the right decision with the benefit of hindsight. It is understandable that the adrenaline will be flowing for the play, but I wonder whether the caddy should be keeping a cool head. Even without the root, Mcllroy was still playing a low percentage shot, considering the risk of injury and the fact that it was the first round, is this yet another example of the poor course management that caused such a fuss earlier in the year.