July 22, 2011
Tiger Woods fires long-time caddie Steve Williams
It seems that Tiger Woods is making one last effort to clean his past, to make it pass all the little details, all the people, even the equipment that once made him the most profitable athlete and the best golfer the sport has ever seen.
By Stephen Lars
The thing about making it to the very top of a sport is that if by any circumstance one falls down, the fall can be just as spectacular and even just as significant as the way up. It’s always been like that. There is a certain attraction that makes you want to follow this fall. I can think of many professional athletes who have had their entire careers come down to nothing, or almost nothing. From the use of performance enhancing drugs, to other scandals involving their lives in and out of the field. Perhaps no other story has been so compelling, so attention grabbing as the scandalous fall of golf’s disgraced legend Tiger Woods.
Perhaps no other story has been so compelling, so attention grabbing as the scandalous fall of golf’s disgraced legend Tiger Woods.
It seems that Tiger Woods is making one last effort to clean his past, to make it pass all the little details, all the people, even the equipment that once made him the most profitable athlete and the best golfer the sport has ever seen. One can’t help but to notice that before the breakdown, before we all learned about his so-called sex addiction and how his personal life was falling to pieces, Tiger Woods was holding onto one of the biggest egos in professional sports. Not only that but, considering the millions of dollars Tiger Woods has made as a pro, it is the talk of town the Tiger is the cheapest guy on tour. Rumor has it that there is a car valet in L.A. that he has stiffed so much he sometimes will try to make small-talk just to see if Tiger could give him a ten dollar bill. But who knows who’s laughing now. For all we know, karma is a bitch.
Now we could consider this to be his latest strike against everything that has happened in the last two years. Tiger Woods has fired caddie Steve Williams. The Australian caddie has been Tiger’s caddie for 13 major titles, 63 PGA Tour wins, the remarkable 2000 season, the Tiger Slam, and the riveting playoff victory over Rocco Mediate at the 2008 U.S. Open.
The troubles between the two had began a couple of weeks ago. Woods never disclosed until after Williams arrived in the country that he planned to skip the tournament due to his injuries. That's when Adam Scott reached out to Williams.
Scott and Williams knew each other well from years together on tour, and Williams sought permission from Woods before he even considered taking up the job. Although Tiger gave his blessing, he apparently was not thrilled with the arrangement. Given that nothing has changed golf-wise for Woods since he tied for fourth at the Masters and withdrew from the Players, you can surmise that Williams was ultimately doomed by his desire to work in Woods' absence.
But there’s more to this then what meets the eye. Tiger Woods has parted ways with two remarkably successful swing coaches: Butch Harmon and Hank Haney. He's divorced from his gorgeous wife, Elin. He ditched a putter that helped him earn more than $100 million. He's been unable to regain his health. And the rest is what we know, his career is far from been what it used to and this is a strange move. Tiger has now officially separated his life from all the securities, all the people that had kept him company during the best years of his career. Now its up to him to find a way to get his act together and start winning. Anything.
The time when Tiger was better then the Honda Classic or the Greenbriar or the John Deere classic is gone. Tiger Woods needs to learn how to take a win wherever it might come. The glory days are well long gone; a comeback is expected from him, but little by little he is closing that window of opportunity
About the author
Stephen Lars is a prominent sports blogger and currently covers the cycling news, previews and handicaps for the BetIAS Sportsbook. You may reprint this article in its full content, please note no modifications to it are accepted.