Caddies came out of the shadows in ’11

by JV Virta
Caddies came out of the shadows in ’11
Article by Song Billon

Caddies came out of the shadows in ’11 - Sports - Golf












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Caddies on the PGA Tour are like vice presidents the only time you really see or hear about them is during an election year (in golf terms that's when they're hired or fired).It doesn't happen very often, but when one of the top players makes a change on the bag, it can make the sports ticker on TV or a li'l blip on the golf radar. That's just the nature of the job. We caddies understand that, and we're fine with it. Like a passing comet or a solar eclipse, there are those rare occasions when big shakeups in the caddie community seem to shake the ground on which we walk. This was one of those years.I'll start with the ones you know, but I'm going to end with the two that had the biggest effect on their players to those of us that truly understand the inside part of the game.Stevie Williams: He's one of the most wellknown and now controversial caddies in the world. That's because of who he stood next to for the last 13 years, and more recently because of the words he said on two occasions.One statement was made to the media after a round of golf and another was pointed toward his former boss at what was thought to be a faux award ceremony for caddies. In both cases Williams got what no caddie wants: the full attention and glaring spotlight of the media and everything that comes with it.The Tiger/Stevie split was gonna happen, but why it was going to happen has been missed by many in the mainstream media. It does go back to the circus that came with the revelation of Tiger's extramarital affairs. But what most people missed (because they don't understand the relationship between player and caddie) was the trust that was lost between Tiger and Stevie.Most people think Stevie travels with Tiger, stays in the same hotels as Tiger, and that they were together 24/7. That was a myth. They had become extremely close friends, as had their wives, and that is where things began to unravel.By all accounts, Steve did not and is not getting a divorce from his wife, but as more and more dirt came out on Tiger, it was assumed that Steve knew. Do you think this might have caused a little stress at home for the Williams family?It's also important to note that a caddie only gets paid when his player plays. That means when Tiger pulled out or missed the cut at an event over the last year and a half that they were together, Steve only got his weekly pay, which was the same as many other caddies on tour.It has been speculated that Steve was on a

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