Tiger Woods and Steve Williams were joined at the hip for a hugely successful period spanning 12 years from the late 1990’s all the way through to 2011.
Steve Williams, 61, was on the bag for Tiger Woods for 13 of his 15 major championship wins.
Back in 2000, Williams was incredibly named as the richest sportsman from New Zealand (The Guardian).
He has enjoyed an incredibly successful career whilst caddying for Greg Norman, Adam Scott and most famously, Tiger Woods.
Woods enjoyed numerous unforgettable moments with Williams on the bag – none more so than his chip in on the 16th hole at Augusta during the final round of the 2005 US Masters.
The 49-year-old is synonymous with pulling off extraordinary shots at crucial times. However, there are plenty of stories about Woods that haven’t been brought into the public domain…until now that is.
Stevie has lifted the lid on a really interesting behind-the-scenes story about the golfing great.
Steve Williams on what Tiger Woods would bet during practice rounds before Majors
The New Zealander knows all there is to know about Tiger the golfer, and indeed the man.
Nobody spent more time with the 15-time major champion than Williams between 1999 and 2011
And now he has been speaking candidly about how Woods used to prepare for Major Championships.
Williams responded when asked how if Tiger would ever bet during tournament rounds, when speaking on The Loop podcast:
“Ah yeh. When Tiger got into a situation when he was playing in a tournament and perhaps weren’t going the way he would like them to go, I would find it useful to say, ‘Ok Tiger, in the next six holes, I’ll give you $100 for every fairway you hit, and you give me $100 for every one you miss. I’ll give you $100 for every green you hit, and you give me $100 for every one you miss’.
“He hates to lose to anyone, and he hates to lose to me as well. Those times when those bets were placed sometimes turned things around, because he didn’t want to part with his money and give it to me!“
Then Williams lifted the lid on a game that Tiger loved to play during practice rounds:
“The one practice round thing that Tiger loved being involved in was the no bogey. Tiger, Mark O’Meara, Allenby, Appleby, I think Duval used to play in those games as well. It was a $1,000 no bogey at Major Championships. You’d play a practice round generally on the Wednesday, the day before the tournament. If you could play a no bogey round, the other guys would all give you $1,000.“
Whatever anybody says, the best way for players at the very highest level to simulate tournament conditions is to lay their own money on the line.
Why did Tiger Woods fire Steve Williams?
It was 14 years ago now when Woods fired Williams, after their relationship off the golf course soured.
Things started to fall apart between the two just after Woods’ off-course problems came to light.
During his break from the game, Tiger allowed Williams to caddy for Adam Scott at The Masters, when the New Zealander requested his permission to do so (CBS Sports).
However, Woods later changed his mind.
Steve Williams didn’t want to let Scott down, so he caddied for him at Augusta anyway, and that was that when it came to his long-standing caddying relationship with Tiger Woods.
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