“This is why NASCAR sells. Apparently we need altercation in the game. We need people slugging it out on the golf course to boost ratings.”

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Jeff Rude looks at the bizarre caddy-player spat between Jay Williamson and Mike Mollet that apparently is the subject of much conjecture:
What they disagree on is what ignited the explosion. Williamson said Mollet lost his cool first and embarrassed him with too much emotional talk and Williamson reacted. Mollet said Williamson lost his cool first and embarrassed him with too much emotional talk and Mollet reacted.

Williamson said the caddie kept yelling at him loudly, calling him a “whiner” among other personal insults, and used the F-word. Mollet said he got riled because Williamson directed the F-word and A-word toward him after the bad chip and while disagreeiing about the wind direction. Williamson said he can’t recall swearing.

Jim Rome, the radio mouth, mistakenly called this spat over wind direction the golf story of the year. He apparently didn’t watch the British Open or Big Break VII. But behind the Tour scenes, on ranges and putting greens and in locker rooms, this may have the legs of a caterpillar. It has become enough of a humorous talking point that Camp Ponte Vedra has tried to put a gag order on both combatants because it feels the incident is detracting from this week’s tournaments.

Maybe the Tour is wrongheaded about this. Think stock car battles and hockey fights. Williamson has.

“I can’t believe how this story keeps going,” Williamson, playoff runner-up at the recent Travelers Championship, said on Wednesday. “This is why NASCAR sells. Apparently we need altercation in the game. We need people slugging it out on the golf course to boost ratings.”