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Steve Williams on Tiger Woods: ‘I’ve wasted two years of my life’
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Thu Jul 21 11:54am EDT
Steve Williams on Tiger Woods: ‘I’ve wasted two years of my life’
By Jay Busbee
Is it possible that Tiger Woods simply has no idea how people outside the ropes of a golf course relate to one another?
On Wednesday, Woods formally announced that he and caddie Steve Williams were parting ways, a decision that he'd apparently broken to Williams several weeks ago. But as Williams has indicated in the last 24 hours, this decision was in no way mutual, and that he cannot believe this is the outcome of his consistent -- some would say misguided -- loyalty.
On his website, Williams released the following statement:
"Following the completion of the AT&T National I am no longer caddying for Tiger after he informed me that he needed to make a change. 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 of late for Australian Adam Scott and will now caddy for him on a permanent basis. Having started my caddying career with Australian great Peter Thompson and working for Greg Norman in the 80's I am excited about the future working for another Australian."
Clearly, Williams believes the loyalty he showed to Woods through a decade-plus of victories, plus both Woods' personal problems and injuries warranted more than a "thanks for your service" pink slip. (He did tell Golf Digest's Tim Rosaforte he respected the fact that Woods handled the dismissal "man to man," but that's where the respect apparently ends.)
Interviewed on Television New Zealand, he went even further: "You could say I've wasted the last two years of my life. I've stuck with Tiger and been incredibly loyal. I'm not disappointed I've been fired -- that's part of the job -- but the timing is extraordinary."
When the Woods scandal, with its lurid tales of trysts around the world, first broke in late 2009, Williams was implicated by association. They're partners on the course! Wouldn't he have known about everything that happened off the course as well? And if he didn't know, why didn't he immediately quit?
"My name should have been cleared immediately," Williams said. "It wasn't and that's what makes it even more disappointing what's transpired [recently]." He indicated that the revelation of Woods' transgressions set off what he called "the most difficult period of my life," and his decision to stick by Woods met with considerable criticism from friends.
Even so, Williams saw something in Woods that kept Williams in the fold. Was it simply money? Certainly Williams earned millions while in Woods' employ. But even if Williams' decision to remain was purely mercenary, remain he did, at a time when Woods had few friends and almost no one willing to stand up for him.
"I, along with a lot of people, lost a lot of respect for Tiger and I pointed out before his return at the Masters at Augusta in 2010 that he had to earn back my respect," Williams said. "Through time I hope he can gain my respect back. He definitely needs to earn my respect again, that's for sure."
We've opined before in this space that perhaps the best thing Woods could do would be to clean house, to start over with an entirely new entourage not beholden to him, and not responsible for enabling him prior to Thanksgiving 2009. Clearly, by keeping much of his prior management team in place, he hasn't done that; by cutting loose the man who was literally his most visible public supporter, he once again gives the appearance of caring for no one but himself.
The loss of Williams could be hugely damaging on the course as well as in the court of public opinion. Williams is 13 years older than Woods, and while he didn't give off a "father figure" vibe, he certainly had it in him to guide Woods in certain directions -- on the course, at least -- while keeping more intrusive elements like the media and the galleries at bay. Whoever takes on the job of caddying Woods, and there are no serious candidates as yet, will have to be part psychologist, part bouncer, an enforcer with Zen calm.
Look, it's Woods' prerogative to fire his caddie at any time; he's done it in the past. This is an employer-employee relationship. (And to be fair, we haven't heard Woods' side of the story.) But there are ways to handle these separations with grace, respect and dignity, ways to keep someone who's been one of your most loyal backers from feeling like all his own pain and stress were meaningless.
Woods has a long list of people who deserved better from him. It's a shame that list continues to grow even now.
Steve Williams on Tiger Woods: ‘I’ve wasted two years of my life’
By Jay Busbee
Is it possible that Tiger Woods simply has no idea how people outside the ropes of a golf course relate to one another?
On Wednesday, Woods formally announced that he and caddie Steve Williams were parting ways, a decision that he'd apparently broken to Williams several weeks ago. But as Williams has indicated in the last 24 hours, this decision was in no way mutual, and that he cannot believe this is the outcome of his consistent -- some would say misguided -- loyalty.
On his website, Williams released the following statement:
"Following the completion of the AT&T National I am no longer caddying for Tiger after he informed me that he needed to make a change. 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 of late for Australian Adam Scott and will now caddy for him on a permanent basis. Having started my caddying career with Australian great Peter Thompson and working for Greg Norman in the 80's I am excited about the future working for another Australian."
Clearly, Williams believes the loyalty he showed to Woods through a decade-plus of victories, plus both Woods' personal problems and injuries warranted more than a "thanks for your service" pink slip. (He did tell Golf Digest's Tim Rosaforte he respected the fact that Woods handled the dismissal "man to man," but that's where the respect apparently ends.)
Interviewed on Television New Zealand, he went even further: "You could say I've wasted the last two years of my life. I've stuck with Tiger and been incredibly loyal. I'm not disappointed I've been fired -- that's part of the job -- but the timing is extraordinary."
When the Woods scandal, with its lurid tales of trysts around the world, first broke in late 2009, Williams was implicated by association. They're partners on the course! Wouldn't he have known about everything that happened off the course as well? And if he didn't know, why didn't he immediately quit?
"My name should have been cleared immediately," Williams said. "It wasn't and that's what makes it even more disappointing what's transpired [recently]." He indicated that the revelation of Woods' transgressions set off what he called "the most difficult period of my life," and his decision to stick by Woods met with considerable criticism from friends.
Even so, Williams saw something in Woods that kept Williams in the fold. Was it simply money? Certainly Williams earned millions while in Woods' employ. But even if Williams' decision to remain was purely mercenary, remain he did, at a time when Woods had few friends and almost no one willing to stand up for him.
"I, along with a lot of people, lost a lot of respect for Tiger and I pointed out before his return at the Masters at Augusta in 2010 that he had to earn back my respect," Williams said. "Through time I hope he can gain my respect back. He definitely needs to earn my respect again, that's for sure."
We've opined before in this space that perhaps the best thing Woods could do would be to clean house, to start over with an entirely new entourage not beholden to him, and not responsible for enabling him prior to Thanksgiving 2009. Clearly, by keeping much of his prior management team in place, he hasn't done that; by cutting loose the man who was literally his most visible public supporter, he once again gives the appearance of caring for no one but himself.
The loss of Williams could be hugely damaging on the course as well as in the court of public opinion. Williams is 13 years older than Woods, and while he didn't give off a "father figure" vibe, he certainly had it in him to guide Woods in certain directions -- on the course, at least -- while keeping more intrusive elements like the media and the galleries at bay. Whoever takes on the job of caddying Woods, and there are no serious candidates as yet, will have to be part psychologist, part bouncer, an enforcer with Zen calm.
Look, it's Woods' prerogative to fire his caddie at any time; he's done it in the past. This is an employer-employee relationship. (And to be fair, we haven't heard Woods' side of the story.) But there are ways to handle these separations with grace, respect and dignity, ways to keep someone who's been one of your most loyal backers from feeling like all his own pain and stress were meaningless.
Woods has a long list of people who deserved better from him. It's a shame that list continues to grow even now.
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Ralph
Raw: Tony Gonzalez (low #'d cards, and especially 1/1's) and Steve Young.
Tiger is on his way down, and while he certainly practiced his golf, it sure seems like he didn't practice the first part of the above old saying.
Hard to believe but, at least based on what I've seen thus far, Tiger somehow comes out ahead in this dispute.
Tabe
Probably a good idea for Tiger let go of Stevie, and start fresh when he comes back from injury....curious how much Tiger paid him to keep his mouth shut about the last 10 years.
<< <i>Fluff.... >>
That's it, thanks!
<< <i>Fluff....
Probably a good idea for Tiger let go of Stevie, and start fresh when he comes back from injury....curious how much Tiger paid him to keep his mouth shut about the last 10 years. >>
Given that Williams has denied any knowledge of anything, and that Tiger has sworn he had no knowledge, and that Williams has said he's writing a book - I would venture Tiger paid him $0 in hush money. That said, Williams made multiple millions as his caddy, which may have hushed him up anyway.
Tabe
Steve? He's a multi-millionaire, thanks to Tiger.
Of course caddie Steve didn't have any knowledge of Tiger's 'sex expliots'.
He'll swear to it "on a stack of 100s", well he will,
...at least until his book comes out!
rd
Quicksilver Messenger Service - Smokestack Lightning (Live) 1968
Quicksilver Messenger Service - The Hat (Live) 1971
The freefall continues: Tiger Woods drops out of the world top 20
By Jay Busbee
We all knew this day was coming, we just didn't think it was coming so soon. Tiger Woods has dropped out of the world top 20, a moment which we've all anticipated in the last few months, but one which retains major historical significance.
You know the story. Woods hasn't been close to a world-beating golfer since his scandal broke in November 2009. This season, he's played exactly nine holes of competitive golf since Augusta, an ill-fated excursion to The Players Championship in May. And now, he's only ranked No. 21 in the world.
Indeed, perhaps the only surprise surrounding Woods' place in the rankings was the fact that he remained in the top 10 for so long. But the Official World Golf Rankings tally scores based on a rolling two-year average, and since Woods had a successful 2009 -- before Thanksgiving, at least -- he was cruising on past successes.
Which is why he'll be hitting terminal velocity in the rankings before long. We're coming up on the two-year anniversary of a remarkable run in which he posted two wins and a second-place finish in three straight tournaments -- the Buick Classic, the Bridgestone and the PGA Championship -- and once those no longer count in his favor, he'll have only the September 2009 BMW Championship and the November 2009 Australian Masters counting in his favor.
The top of the rankings remain familiar: Luke Donald, Lee Westwood, Martin Kaymer, Rory McIlroy and Steve Stricker. Phil Mickelson comes in at No. 6, and British Open winner Darren Clarke is No. 31. (Auburn also received votes, which seems a little strange.)
We don't need any more reminders of how far Woods has fallen. And although winning will solve many of his on-course ills, those days seem further away than ever before.
This clown pulled the wool over everyones eyes for a decade. He deserves everything bad that comes his way. I'm hoping he never wins another tournament, let alone a major. Total media whore now calls for privacy...ha ha ha! Whatevs...
Here's to Elin and the kids! Celebrate THEM and their accomplishments, not this P.O.S.
<< <i>I lovin' this collapse into oblivion.
This clown pulled the wool over everyones eyes for a decade. He deserves everything bad that comes his way. I'm hoping he never wins another tournament, let alone a major. Total media whore now calls for privacy...ha ha ha! Whatevs...
Here's to Elin and the kids! Celebrate THEM and their accomplishments, not this P.O.S. >>
Her accomplishments? Like being a good nanny, and quickly finding another rich dude to start fooling around with?
<< <i>
<< <i>I lovin' this collapse into oblivion.
This clown pulled the wool over everyones eyes for a decade. He deserves everything bad that comes his way. I'm hoping he never wins another tournament, let alone a major. Total media whore now calls for privacy...ha ha ha! Whatevs...
Here's to Elin and the kids! Celebrate THEM and their accomplishments, not this P.O.S. >>
Her accomplishments? Like being a good nanny, and quickly finding another rich dude to start fooling around with? >>
I'm still upset she didn't pick me.
<< <i>Her accomplishments? Like being a good nanny, and quickly finding another rich dude to start fooling around with? >>
If you don't get it...then you don't get it.
This clown pulled the wool over everyones eyes for a decade. He deserves everything bad that comes his way. I'm hoping he never wins another tournament, let alone a major. Total media whore now calls for privacy...ha ha ha! Whatevs...
Here's to Elin and the kids! Celebrate THEM and their accomplishments, not this P.O.S. >>
Her accomplishments? Like being a good nanny, and quickly finding another rich dude to start fooling around with?
Getting sand to stick so nicely to your tan is worth noting..
Collecting 1970s Topps baseball wax, rack and cello packs, as well as PCGS graded Half Cents, Large Cents, Two Cent pieces and Three Cent Silver pieces.