Tiger Woods’ former Caddy Steve Williams has supported him for overcoming his latest setback in injury and believes the five-time Masters Champion’s career is “not done yet”.
Woods has played a limited schedule in recent years after a car accident in February 2021 left him with career-threatening bone and ankle damage, making only 11 official starts in the last four seasons and completed 72 holes on only four apartments.
The former world # 1 will miss the masters – Live from April 10-13 at Sky SportS – After blasting his Achilles and raising doubts about his participation in the rest of Majors this season and when he will be able to return to competitive actions.
Williams Caddied for him from 1999 to 2011 and played an important role in ‘Tiger Slam’ and 13 of his 15 major wins, with New Zealander still expecting Woods to try to challenge to majors again.
“Tiger still has a task available,” Williams told Sky Sports Golf Podcast. “Obviously, he’s out wounded with another setback, but I really think he won’t give the chance to win another major away.
“He will still practice and come to the point where he feels he could stand on tee and physically compete for 72 holes, knowing that he has given every practice he can do to get there and try to win a bigger larger one.
“He’s not done yet!”
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Williams had already been a caddy for over 20 years and worked for bigger winners Greg Norman and Raymond Floyd when he replaced Mike “Fluff” Cowan as Woods’ Looper in March 1999, where it became clear where the future Grand Slam winner’s priorities stood.
“When I went to take the job with Tiger and talked to him about what his plan is and what his goal was, it was just overwhelming meaning in the big championships,” Williams explained.
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“After his victory on Masters [1997]He hadn’t won another major championship when I stepped on the bag in 1999. With every major passing by, it’s a lesser chance of winning one and he doesn’t get his career on the track he would move on. I could sense it right away. “
The couple enjoyed great success later that year at the PGA championship, where Williams’ decision to exceed Woods on the penultimate hole led them to see the then teenager Sergio Garcia in Medinah.
“Tiger read the putt and said it’s outside the hole, but I assured him it was inside the hole – it was a big call,” Williams admitted. “This is the first time we’ve had a chance to win a major. He is actually wobbling down the stretch and Sergio [Garcia]is got the amount behind him.
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“He knocked it in, and who knows where his career might have gone if he hasn’t turned it on and continued to beat Sergio. The other major I feel is the hardest to win and you look at the number of big players, talented players who won only a bigger championship.
“Tiger obviously won it in 1999, so he doesn’t start 2000 with the extra pressure on trying to win the other major and start this race. In a big moment I overridden Tiger and I was right, and that’s where a huge amount of our confidence that followed in subsequent years was born.”
Woods won three of the four majors in 2000, including the US Open and Open with a record -breaking margin before winning Masters the following April to hold all four majors at the same time.
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He remains the last player to win the green jacket in consecutive years, after his title defense in 2002, which also saw him demand the United States open, part of a remarkable race on seven wins in 11 majors.
“Everything was in the direction of breaking jacks [Nicklaus] Registration of 18 major championships, “said Williams.” As every year went on and every major went, there was just more and more pressure on it. Right there and then I really thought he would eclipse it.
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“His dedication, his drive, his practice, the way he played and prepared himself, and we way he peaked for the main subject was better than anyone else. It is a lot of pressure that caddy for Tiger, but it is a great pressure and things we have thrive on.”
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Woods couldn’t add to his big spoken in the next two seasons, but made changes to 2005 Masters and beat Chris Dimarco in a play-off, after producing one of the biggest shots in greater history with his remarkable chip-in birdie on pair-three 16.
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“When Tiger hit the ball on the tee, and I think ‘Jeez, it’s a bit back!’,” Williams reflected.
“I thought it’s in the bunker, it’s not the bunker. Then it’s in the water, now it’s not in the water – I don’t know where it’s gone and what’s over there! Tiger as we go from tee up to the green, asked me what’s over there. I didn’t know what’s over there!
“Tiger said, ‘Do you think if I land the ball at this pitch, it doesn’t roll too far up the hill, or it gets too much speed comes back and goes too far past the hole?’ Well, he landed the ball exactly at this pitch.
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“He could stand there for the rest of his life and hit as many shots as he would, he would never reproduce that shot – it was just an incredible moment.”
Williams was there to comfort him a year later at Open, the first Major won since the departure of Woods’ father, Earl, with their close ties that extend out of the golf course until their separation in 2011.
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“When he got on the course, he was all business,” Williams said. “It was his job, he had a task and he would do this task to the best of his ability every single day he came to the golf course.
“He certainly had a softer side that only these people around him would see from the golf course. He had a very friendly touch. He says nothing without any significance and he takes his time.
“I was very lucky to wear one of the greatest players ever and be part of some golf history. He was an incredible guy to work for and he was very generous to myself and my whole family.
“I have nothing but praise for the guy and I feel very lucky to have been able to stand by him and watch him play some of the best golf ever played.”
Listen to the full Steve Williams interview on the latest edition of Sky Sports Golf Podcast, which hosted each week by Jamie Weir. Now subscribe to Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Spreaker, while Vodcast editions are found on the Sky Sports Golf YouTube channel.