As the Caddie Turns:
Scott lauds Williams
AKRON, Ohio – Not to stretch an analogy too far, but what the heck: If this were a horse race, the jockeys would make the difference. In this case, Stevie Williams beat his old horse silly, and what a toothsome irony it was.Williams’s new horse, Adam Scott, beat his old horse by a couple of laps. His old horse being Tiger Woods.
This was the first round of the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational at Firestone Country Club.
Subplot No. 1 – Williams was the caddie when Woods won the thing seven times.
Subplot No. 2 – In a fit of pique, Woods fired Williams a few weeks ago, and asked an old pal to fill in, Byron Bell, who is not a caddie.
Subplot No. 3 – Scott hired Williams.
Main Plot – Scott fired his all-time low at Firestone, an 8-under-par 62. Woods, coming back from 11 weeks recuperating from injuries to his left leg, shot 68. And while a 68 is a really fine score at the long, tough par-70 course, it was Woods merely clearing his throat in the past. The context this time makes his score comforting but hardly inspiring: For all of its 7,400 yards, Firestone had its muscle softened by recent rains. Fully 39 of the 76 starters broke par, and 17 of them were better.
But back to the analogy-stretching: If there are courses for horses, then Firestone is Woods’ track, but it belonged to Scott for this day. How much did Stevie Williams have to do with his performance?
“I don’t know,” Scott said, with a little chuckle. “He seems to have a lot of good rounds in him around this place, that’s for sure.”
Nice little crack. Everybody got it. Except for last year’s debacle, Woods lived in the 60s. In 40 rounds over 10 years, he had 29 in the 60s, 11 in the 70s, and 72 was his worst, and just once at that. With Williams packing all the way.
“He didn’t think it was a big deal to shoot 62,” Scott cracked. “It was normal.”
The subject of caddies wasn’t raised with Woods, and he didn’t bring it up. The closest he came to evaluating Bell’s work was when someone asked Woods whether he was getting his own yardages for his shots.
“Sometimes,” he said.
Whether this actually is a qualitative analysis of a caddie’s worth is impossible to assess, inasmuch as he said, upon firing Williams, that “Stevie is a hell of a caddie.”
Could this be the start of something big with Adam Scott, who by all accounts has been an underachiever, having been tagged a new Tiger Woods when he came out. That is, was a guru caddie the missing piece in his quest for a wordly game?
“I’ve said a couple times already about Steve – I think he really understands how to manage a game well around the golf course,” Scott said.
And as to whether this was an awkward thing, like running into one’s ex on a date (the only truly apt comparison in this case). What with Woods having fired Williams and all.
“I haven’t seen him this week yet,” Scott said. Meaning Woods, of course. “I saw him at Aronimink, but I had no idea it was going down like that.”
That was the recent AT&T Tournament, in which Williams – with Woods still sitting out – caddied for Scott without having asked persmission. And Woods firing him, without further ado.
“”I don’t think it should be awkward,” said Scott, showing either a vein of naivete or wonderful, sheltering ignorance. “I mean, this kind of thing happens on the Tour. It happens a lot every year with everyone, and just because it’s Tiger and Steve, I’m not going to treat it like it’s anything different than anyone else going through this.”
Actually, Williams was, after all, Woods’ caddie for 11 years, and was noted for his, uh, assertiveness toward fans, part of his loyalty to his man. What would he bring to Scott?
“I think he just wants to bring a good energy toward me,” Scott said. “I think he believes in my game, that I can be one of the best players in the world. I think he thinks he can help me achieve that, and I believe that, too. Everything is very positive and confident with Steve so far, and you know, that’s hopefully rubbing off on me.”
Well, enough of How The Caddie Turns. It should be remembered that Scott had a caddie before Williams, one the well-traveled, noted Tony Navarro. How was it that Scott suddenly needed a caddie?
“Tony was absolutely 100 percent behind me, but like I said, we just had our time,” Scott said.
Funny thing. Didn’t Tiger Woods say something like that upon unloading Steve Williams? Well, anyway, Williams hasn’t barked at any fans yet, nor tossed an offending camera into the drink.
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