Tiger Woods’ ex-caddie, Steve Williams, admits to lying to the golf legend about the amount of yardage he had before him to push the 15-time major champion to play the right shot when he was high on adrenaline.
Woods is one of the most dominant athletes of all-time, and regarded as the greatest golfer of all-time, winning majors from 1997-2019 as he displayed unique power, judgement and longevity to remain on top of the sport.
Whilst many credit the 49-year-old exclusively for the mind-boggling shots he played on his way to 82 PGA Tour wins, the role of the caddie in all of this when it comes to that judgement and remaining calm under pressure is often overlooked.
And sometimes Williams even took that to the extremes, admitting he would adjust yardage or even mislead his client to ensure the legendary sportsman played the right shot when his emotions were boiling over.
“Yeah, a lot of times,” Williams said to the No Laying Up podcast of if he ever misled Tiger. “You know an athlete.
“When they get in full flight and they’re really going good, he told me to start walking a little bit quicker.
“And I could see the adrenaline. I would just adjust the yards, because otherwise it would start going further and further.”
Williams opens up on infamous Valhalla 71 shot
One of the most famous examples of Williams tricking Woods, and it working, is at the 71st hole during the 2000 PGA Championship at the Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky.
The caddie decided to trick the star into using a 56-degree wedge instead of the 60-degree wedge and got Woods out of a very tricky spot by doing so against Bob May in a three-hole playoff.
“It was really risky,” Williams confessed. “Because the front bunker was the only place he couldn’t be.
“And he ended up hitting it really close and making a birdie.”
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