News
Adam Scott and caddy Steve Williams part ways
Adam Scott and caddy Steve Williams announced on Wednesday that their professional relationship, which began in 2011, has come to an end — it seems to have been a mutual decision.
In a statement on Wednesday, Scott, the No. 2 ranked golfer in the world according to the Official World Golf Rankings, announced that the two are officially ending their partnership.
“Steve has been an integral part of my team in a period where I have fulfilled some of my lifetime golfing goals,” Scott said. “His dedication and professionalism have been without question, and his friendship is highly valued. Our priorities and stages of life are different now, and so we decided that this is the best time to end our partnership.”
The Steve-Scott duo proved to be successful, although it lasted under four years, and helped to get the major championship monkey off Scott’s back. With Williams on the bag, Scott produced wins at the 2011 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, 2013 Masters, 2013 Barclays and 2014 Crowne Plaza Invitational, also including a runner-up finish at the 2012 Open Championship and a world No. 1 ranking in the OWGR, which began on May 19, 2014 and lasted for 11 weeks.
Scott wanted Steve to continue to caddy full-time, but Williams had a different view on his life and goals moving forward.
“I’m definitely not going to caddy full time. I’ve 100 percent made my mind up on that. At some point in time, there are more important things” Williams said.
According to reports, Williams recently pitched Scott a plan for 2015, which would allow the pair to maintain a professional relationship.
“If Adam agrees, and we’ve talked about it, I’ll caddy for him from Doral to the Tour Championship in 2015 and then that’s it.”
Apparently, Scott didn’t go for it.
“After discussing this in detail with Adam it became evident that my plan was not going to fit with Adam’s requirements so we decided to end our partnership,” Williams said.
Williams, who was recently inducted into the Caddy Hall of Fame, has had a long and prosperous professional caddying career. The New Zealander has been a part of more than 150 worldwide victories, carrying the golf bags of Raymond Floyd, Greg Norman, Tiger Woods and of course, Adam Scott. After 13 years on the bag with Woods, which produced 13 major championship victories, Williams was relieved of his bag-carrying services in 2011.
Will the Stevie-Tiger pair reunite now that the Steve-Scott relationship has ended?
“If the right opportunity arose I would consider caddying on a part-time basis in the future,” Williams said in a statement.
Although Williams is looking for part-time work, and Woods is known to play a part-time schedule, the prospect of rehashing the old partnership is more than wishful thinking. Bad blood still remains.
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News
Tour Rundown: Rose blooms, Rory rolls
This week last year, I found myself praying to the weather goddesses and gods that Rochester would be spared their wrath over the next seven days. The 2023 Oak Hill PGA Championship (that was slated for August when the contract was signed) was on the horizon, and I wanted my region to show well. Things turned out fine, with all four seasons making an appearance, a PGA Professional (Blockie!) stealing hearts, and a proven champion in Koepka (although I was pulling for Viktor.)
This year, no concerns. Louisville will shine this week at Valhalla, but we’ve matters to consider before we look to four days of coverage this week. Nelly did not win on the LPGA this week, so who did? The PGA Tour held two events in the Carolinas, and Tour Champions celebrated a major event in Alabama. Four noteworthy events to run down, so let’s head to RunDownTown and take care of business.
LPGA @ Founders Cup: Rose blooms
There was a sense that Rose Zhang might have a role in the 2020s version of the LPGA. After winning everything there was in amateur golf, she came out and won her first tournament as a professional. That was last May and, let’s be honest, who among us thought it would take 12 months for Zhang to win again? Rhymes with hero, I know.
This week in New Jersey, eyes were on Nelly Korda, as she made a run at a sixth consecutive win on the LPGA circuit. Korda ran out of gas on Saturday, and that was just fine. Madelene Sagstrom and Zhang had turned the soiree at Upper Montclair into a battle of birdies. Gabriela Ruffels came third at nine-under par. No one else reached double digits under par but Sagstrom and Zhang. They didn’t just reach -10…they more than doubled it.
Sagstrom had the look of a winner with five holes left to play. She was three shots clear of Zhang, at 23-under par. The Swede played her closing quintet in plus-one, finishing at 22-deep, 13 shots ahead of Ruffels. That performance we’d anticipated from Zhang? It happened on Sunday. She closed with four birdies in five holes to snatch victory number two, by two shots. Spring is a lovely time for a Rose in bloom.
Take a look back at hole No. 1… @rosezhang is living life on the edge ? pic.twitter.com/o6z6SK7TRA
— LPGA (@LPGA) May 12, 2024
PGA Tour @ Wells Fargo: Rory the Fourth is crowned in Charlotte
Xander Schauffele is a likable lad. He has an Olympic gold medal on his shelf, and a few PGA Tour titles to his credit. Even X knows that even par won’t get much done in a final round unless conditions are brutal. They weren’t brutal at Quail Hollow on Sunday. X posted even par on day four. It kept him ahead of third-place finisher Byeong Hun An but gave him zero chance of challenging for the title.
Paired with Xander in round four was the King of Quail, Rory McIlroy. The Northern Irishman had previously won thrice at the North Carolina track, and he was champing at the bit to gain some momentum on the road to Louisville. While Xander scored increasingly worse along the week (64-67-70-71) McIlroy saved his best round for the final round. Thanks to five birdies and two eagles, McIlroy ran away with the event, winning his fourth Wells Fargo by five over Schauffele.
HOLE-OUT EAGLE FOR RORY!!!
He now leads by SIX! pic.twitter.com/UE49lwfwNC
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) May 12, 2024
PGA Tour @ Myrtle Beach Classic: a little CG won the inaugural week
It always seemed odd that the PGA Tour had zero stops along the Grand Strand each season. This week’s event seemed odd in that the golfers played the same course each day, and there were zero handicaps involved. Most events at Myrtle Beach involve hundreds of amateurs at dozens of courses, with all sorts of handicaps.
The Dunes Club is a Robert Trent Jones Sr. course, down toward Pawley’s Island. It claims what used to be considered an unreachable, par-five hole, the watery 13th. Nothing is unreachable any longer, including a 22-under par total for a six-shot win. Chris Gotterup, a former Rutgers and Oklahoma golfer, played sizzling golf all week and won by a sextet of shots. Gotterup opened with 66, then improved to 64 on Friday. His Saturday 65 sounded a beacon of “come get me,” and his closing 67 ensured that second place was the only thing up for grabs.
Chasing the podium’s second level were a bunch of young Americans. In the end, Alastair Docherty and Davis Thompson reached 16-deep, thanks to rounds of 64 and 68 on Sunday. They held off six golfers at 15-under par. The victory was Gotterup’s first on tour and should be enough to get him a Wikipedia page, among other plaudits.
Leader by SIX!
@ChrisGotterup | @MyrtleBeachC pic.twitter.com/TVdA6ZPYc4— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) May 12, 2024
PGA Tour Champions @ Regions Traditions: Vindication for Dougie
Doug Barron, if I recall correctly, was suspended by the Powers That Be, way back in 2009, for testosterone. He was naturally low in the hormone, so he took supplements. This did not sit well with certain admins, so he was put on the shelf for 18 months. Not cool.
In 2019, Barron came out on the Tour Champions. He won in August. The next year, despite the craziness of Covid, he won again. Barron hit a dry spell for a few years. He kept his card, but accrued no additional victories. In late April, Barron showed serious signs of life, with a t2 at Mitsubishi. This week in Birmingham, he jumped out to a lead, lost it, then gained it back on Saturday. With major championship glory on the line, Barron brought the train into the station with 68 on Sunday.
Stephen Alker, the man who could not lose just two years ago, gave serious chase with a closing 63. He moved up 11 slots, into solo 2nd on Sunday. He finished two shots back of the champion. Two shots ain’t much. Cough once and you drop a pair. Third place saw a three-way tie, including last year’s winner (Steve Stricker) and runner-up (Ernie Els.) Despite the intimidating presence of the game’s greats, however, Doug Barron had more than enough of everything this week, and he has a third Tour Champions title to show off.
At the @RegionsTrad, all champions receive a green bike.
Doug Barron decided to take a victory lap ? pic.twitter.com/bEzENMjZwv
— PGA TOUR Champions (@ChampionsTour) May 13, 2024
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Equipment
Did Rory McIlroy inspire Shane Lowry’s putter switch?
Editor’s note: This is an excerpt from a piece our Andrew Tursky originally wrote for PGATour.com’s Equipment Report. Head over there for the full article.
The timing of Lowry’s putter changeup was curious: Was he just using a Spider putter because he was paired with McIlroy, who’s been using a Spider Tour X head throughout 2024? Was Lowry just being festive because it’s the Zurich Classic, and he wanted to match his teammate? Did McIlroy let Lowry try his putter, and he liked it so much he actually switched into it?
Well, as it turns out, McIlroy’s only influence was inspiring Lowry to make more putts.
When asked if McIlroy had an influence on the putter switch, Lowry had this to say: “No, it’s actually a different putter than what he uses. Maybe there was more pressure there because I needed to hole some more putts if we wanted to win,” he said with a laugh.
To Lowry’s point, McIlroy plays the Tour X model, whereas Lowry switched into the Tour Z model, which has a sleeker shape in comparison, and the two sole weights of the club are more towards the face.
Lowry’s Spider Tour Z has a white True Path Alignment channel on the crown of his putter, which is reminiscent of Lowry’s former 2-ball designs, thus helping to provide a comfort factor despite the departure from his norm. Instead of a double-bend hosel, which Lowry used in his 2-ball putters, his new Spider Tour Z is designed with a short slant neck.
“I’ve been struggling on the greens, and I just needed something with a fresh look,” Lowry told GolfWRX.com on Wednesday at the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship. “It has a different neck on it, as well, so it moves a bit differently, but it’s similar. It has a white line on the back of it [like my 2-ball], and it’s a mallet style. So it’s not too drastic of a change.
“I just picked it up on the putting green and I liked the look of it, so I was like, ‘Let’s give it a go.’”
Read the rest of the piece over at PGATour.com.
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Equipment
Spotted: Tommy Fleetwood’s TaylorMade Spider Tour X Prototype putter
Tommy Fleetwood has been attached to his Odyssey White Hot Pro #3 putter for years now. However, this week at the Wells Fargo Championship, we did spot him testing a new putter that is very different, yet somewhat similar, to his current gamer.
This new putter is a TaylorMade Spider Tour X head but with a brand new neck we haven’t seen on a Spider before. A flow neck is attached to the Spider head and gives the putter about a 1/2 shaft offset. This style neck will usually increase the toe hang of the putter and we can guess it gets the putter close to his White Hot Pro #3.
Another interesting design is that lack of TaylorMade’s True Path alignment on the top of the putter. Instead of the large white center stripe, Tommy’s Spider just has a very short white site line milled into it. As with his Odyssey, Tommy seems to be a fan of soft inserts and this Spider prototype looks to have the TPU Pure Roll insert with 45° grooves for immediate topspin and less hopping and skidding.
The sole is interesting as well in that the rear weights don’t look to be interchangeable and are recessed deep into the ports. This setup could be used to push the CG forward in the putter for a more blade-like feel during the stroke, like TaylorMade did with the Spider X Proto Scottie Scheffler tested out.
Tommy’s putter is finished off with an older Super Stroke Mid Slim 2.0 grip in blue and white. The Mid Slim was designed to fit in between the Ultra Slim 1.0 and the Slim 3.0 that was a popular grip on tour.
- Check out the rest of our photos from the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship
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cw
Jan 23, 2015 at 12:56 pm
If you want the pace of play to improve, just let players/caddies use lasers or GPS. The caddies are gonna get the right yardage number anyways; it just takes longer without the lasers.
Being on tour without a caddie would get really lonely. You might see some people actually go crazy under the stress without someone to talk to all those hours on the course, in hotels, on planes, etc.
Sir Issac
Sep 25, 2014 at 10:05 am
No caddies = super slow play! Plus imagine all the divots and unraked bunkers.
marcelo otero
Sep 22, 2014 at 8:58 am
The next caddie Adam has too be Eddie gardino
Boner
Sep 18, 2014 at 9:38 pm
If I was a betting man I would bet that Phil will dump Bones and go with Stevie.
Rob
Sep 19, 2014 at 10:01 am
I’d take that bet…no chance
Foley
Sep 18, 2014 at 3:47 pm
Stevie quit caddying to be tigers new swing coach.
James Strachan
Sep 26, 2014 at 5:16 am
He is big headed enough and sufficiently foul mouthed to think he could be his swing coach.
Erik
Sep 18, 2014 at 10:32 am
Awesome, now he just needs to get rid of the belly putter and I can finally become a fan as I really like his swing.
dot dot
Sep 18, 2014 at 9:08 am
Once Adam has to use a legal putter Steve would become a part time caddy. Having to work only on Thursdays and Fridays.
Brandon
Sep 18, 2014 at 10:32 am
Shows what you know. Adam has always been a lousy putter by tour standards even with a short stick, the length has nothing to do with it. And the putter is not illegal until the rule change.
Scooter McGavin
Sep 18, 2014 at 10:40 am
I think you missed the joke.
dot dot
Sep 18, 2014 at 4:56 pm
Thanks Scooter. It’s tough to write em then have to explain em.
Brandon
Sep 20, 2014 at 10:11 pm
Got the joke, wasn’t funny. Think you missed my point completely.
g patock
Sep 24, 2014 at 6:20 pm
Geez, Brandon. Loosen up a little.
Jorge
Sep 23, 2014 at 6:24 am
Oh man, I really laughed out loud with this comment. Awesome comment….maybe cause I totally agree.
Thanks for the laugh 🙂
Scooter McGavin
Sep 18, 2014 at 6:01 am
Am I the only one that doesn’t think there should even be caddies in golf? Sorry old guys, I know it’s tradition, and has been around forever, but something doesn’t seem right about the top, most elite players in a sport needing someone to carry clubs, provide yardages, read your putts, and help strategize your round. I feel like that should all be on the golfer.
Knobbywood
Sep 18, 2014 at 8:36 am
Spoken like someone with little tournament golf experience
Scooter McGavin
Sep 18, 2014 at 9:20 am
So is there supposed to be an argument in there? You’re right, I don’t have playing experience in tournaments, but I do have caddy experience in tournaments. Do you have any actual thoughts as to why the golfer shouldn’t shoulder the full work load of playing in competition? They already have to execute the shots themselves, so why not make them handle their own equipment and not have a “second opinion” man? Is there a reason they should have a “helper”?
Jeff Kinney
Sep 18, 2014 at 11:37 am
It keeps the economy moving forward.
dorcasm
Sep 18, 2014 at 9:42 am
“Spoken like someone with little tournament golf experience”
What does that have to do with anything? It comes down to whether you think golf should be an individual or team sport.
bradford
Sep 18, 2014 at 11:08 am
I think excusing tradition removes the strongest argument for caddies. They are and always have been part of the game and I’d hate to see it ever go away. You make a solid point about carrying, and I walk and carry everywhere I’m allowed, but I’d hate to imagine golf without caddies. Sometimes things don’t have to make sense, but that doesn’t make them bad.
Scooter McGavin
Sep 18, 2014 at 1:16 pm
I completely agree that the main reason is tradition. What I am wondering is if there are any legitimate reasons/arguments to be made other than tradition.
Jeremy
Sep 18, 2014 at 1:40 pm
If I had to come up with one, I’d say walking 4 rounds of golf in tournament conditions is hard enough. If you had to carry your own bag as well, it’d really take a toll on the body.
MikeOZ
Sep 19, 2014 at 7:02 am
They could use push carts like the rest of us.. another sponsorship opportunity!
M.
Sep 26, 2014 at 6:37 pm
…or they could utilize local juniors/amateurs for caddy duties?! Would that not be traditional?!
drfairway
Sep 18, 2014 at 6:19 pm
I see your point of views and somewhat agree, but without the caddies, the pace of play will be horrible.
Rich
Sep 18, 2014 at 6:49 pm
You mean it’s not already?
Double Mocha Man
Sep 18, 2014 at 9:06 pm
One thing is for sure, the bags would get a lot smaller and lighter. No longer would the golfer carry 3 sets of playing clothes, extra shoes, 2 dozen Pro V1’s, 5 bananas, 4 golf gloves, 3 towels, 2 apples and 1 bottle of Jim Beam.
nikkyd
Sep 18, 2014 at 11:29 pm
How many guys players out there do ya think are taking a nip off the jug while in a tournament? Probably all the cool old guys
Airbender
Sep 17, 2014 at 11:34 pm
Best wishes for both Adam and Steve!
Rich
Sep 17, 2014 at 9:25 pm
I’m not a fan of Steve Williams but there’s no questioning his credentials as a caddy. Hopefully Adam can find another top caddy because he is an amazing player, a top bloke and I think he could win more majors and big events in the future with the right bag man.
bradford
Sep 18, 2014 at 11:10 am
You gonna “moderate” this post too? My actual comment was censored for the word “douche”
bradford
Sep 18, 2014 at 11:11 am
in reference to Steve’s similarity to Patrick Reed