Tiger Woods said he sent former caddie Steve Williams a
congratulatory text after seeing him win on Adam Scott’s bag last
Sunday.
By Jeff Shain – The Orlando Sentinel
JOHNS CREEK, Ga. – Tiger Woods said he sent former caddie Steve Williams a congratulatory text after seeing him win on Adam Scott’s bag last Sunday.
As to whether they had any further conversation after Williams’ harsh post-round words got back to him? “I think that’s something between Stevie and myself,” Woods said Wednesday as he finished up preparations for this week’s PGA Championship.
With buzz still swirling three days after Williams labeled Scott’s WGC-Bridgestone Invitational triumph “the best win of my life – and I’m not joking,” Woods kept his comments short whenever the topic came up in his Q&A with reporters.
“I’m not going to speculate on Steve,” Woods said. “Those are obviously his feelings and his emotions and his decision to say what he wants to say.”
An Atlanta TV station on Tuesday showed a clip of Woods’ agent, Mark Steinberg, engaged in conversation with Williams in the Atlanta Athletic Club parking lot. Woods confirmed the meeting but offered no insight.
“They talked. Yeah, absolutely,” Woods said. Asked what was discussed, he replied: “They talked. You’re right.”
Woods dismissed Williams earlier this summer, ending a 12-year working relationship that featured 13 major-championship wins among 62 PGA Tour victories.
The move came with Woods on the shelf, amid what became a 12-week absence to heal a sprained left knee and Achilles tendon. During the interim, Williams accepted an offer from Scott to caddie at the U.S. Open – which became a full-time job after Woods severed ties.
The WGC-Bridgestone was just the fourth tournament with Williams under Scott’s employ. It also happened to be Woods’ first after the layoff, bringing out a little pent-up emotion when Williams took questions after the win.
“The last two years (since Woods’ sex scandal) have been very difficult for myself and my family,” Williams said on Sunday, “and I sort of believe in destiny sometimes.”
Williams also disputed the details of his dismissal, saying he was fired in a phone conversation and not in a face-to-face meeting as Woods has said.
Asked Wednesday whether he had been surprised by Williams’ comments, Woods said only, “Yeah.”
Prior to Woods’ Q&A session, Williams apologized via his website for stealing the luster off his new boss’s triumph.
“My emotions following Adam’s victory were running very high,” Williams said. “I felt like my emotions poured out and got the better of me.
“I apologize to my fellow caddies and professionals for failing to mention Adam’s outstanding performance. I would like to thank all those fans at Firestone who made this victory the most special of my career.”
Woods, meanwhile, turned his attention to ending a victory drought now in its 20th month. He’s also been stuck on 14 majors since his epic 2008 U.S. Open playoff victory at Torrey Pines.
“In order to win, I had to be healthy,” he said. “That’s what we were trying to get to. Now I can go. Now I can do the work.”
Woods also faces some pressure to come up with a high enough finish to qualify for the PGA Tour’s “postseason” series. He’s 129th in FedEx Cup points this week, with only the top 125 getting into the four-event series that begins in two weeks.
Woods already has said family obligations will keep him from playing next week’s event in Greensboro, so he’ll need at least a top-15 finish at AAC to have a chance at making the FedEx Cup field.
