Tiger Woods: Former Caddie Says Golf Pro Treated Him Badly And Dumped Him
Steve Williams, the former long-term caddie of pro golfer Tiger Woods is releasing his biography this week, and it’s anything but flattering for Woods. Among other things, Williams claims he was treated “like a slave” while he worked for Woods for over a decade.
New York Daily News reports that Williams’ upcoming biography, Out of the Rough, due for release on Monday, accuses Woods of acting rudely towards him during their 12-year working partnership on the golf course.
“One thing that really pissed me off was how he would flippantly toss a club in the general direction of the bag, expecting me to go over and pick it up. I felt uneasy about bending down to pick up his discarded club – it was like I was his slave. The other thing that disgusted me was his habit of spitting at the hole if he missed a putt.”
Williams and Woods once held a close bond over the more-than-decade-long span they worked together. According to Williams, however, Woods dumped their friendship in 2011, and although Williams started working with Adam Scott, who won the 2013 Australian Masters, there is evidently still bitterness towards Woods. Not only was Williams once Woods’ caddie, but they were both in each other’s weddings.
Williams claims that he didn’t know about Woods’ infidelity with nightclub owner Rachel Uchitel, among others, until after the affairs became known to the world in 2009. Yet, once the scandal broke, Williams indicates that he and his family were greatly impacted, something that he still holds Woods accountable for.
“I explained to him what had happened in New Zealand and how furious I was at being dragged through the wringer over a scandal I had nothing to do with. He needed to know how difficult that was for me and my family. I told him it was something that could have been avoided and how bitterly disappointed I was at his people for their total lack of communication and unwillingness to put out a statement saying I had nothing to do with it.”
U.S. News and World Report reports that the new book reveals that although Woods was in hot water after the affairs became public, Williams intended to stick by a friend in need, despite the public accusing him of being an enabler and calling him a liar when he said he had no clue Woods was cheating.
Consequently, Williams wrote that his loyalty resulted in people in his own neighborhood harassing him about standing by Woods. Williams asked Woods’ management to release a statement that would clear him from catching the blame as well, but Woods’ management reportedly ignored Williams’ requests.
“People in my local community would front up to me at the shops and call me a liar to my face, and ask ‘what are you doing with him?’ I repeatedly asked for Tiger’s management to release a statement that would clear me of any involvement in this lurid news. They simply wouldn’t do it because there were others in his group who knew exactly what was going on and management felt they couldn’t single out one person as innocent.”
Regardless of the backlash, Williams indicates that he never thought of quitting his role as Woods’ caddie, and in 2010, Woods called him, and apologized, telling Williams it was better that he never knew about the affairs, given the caddie’s strong values. A year later, Woods fired Williams, ending a 12-year-long partnership. Woods indicated in a public statement the same year that it was time for a change and that he harbored no ill feelings, but according to Williams, it came as a complete shock.
Out of the Rough, slated for release on Monday, is filled with additional details of Williams’ time with Tiger Woods, as well as his inside experiences of working with numerous other golf professionals, including Raymond Floyd, Ian Baker-Finch, Greg Norman, and more.
[Photo By Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images]
