Stevie Williams Captures WGC Bridgestone With Adam Scott Nearby
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Former Tiger Woods looper Steve Williams showed no ill effects from a long layoff, capturing Sunday's WGC Bridgestone Invitational by four shots as employer and Australian golfing great Adam Scott looked on.
So sorry I missed it, but the reviews of the post round comments helped make up for it!
But in a surreal scene at Firestone, they weren't for him.
They were for his caddie.
"Stev-ie Will-iams," they shouted as the guy carrying the bag for Scott broke into a big smile.
The celebration made it clear that Steve Williams felt vindicated after being fired last month by Tiger Woods. The interview after it was over - yes, he gave interviews - made it sound as if it was Williams who shot the 5-under 65. At one point, Williams described himself as a "good front-runner when I'm caddying."
Here's the CBS interview video of Williams talking after the last putt was holed and sparking a, uh, healthy discussion about the less than healthy state of Tiger and Stevie's relationship.
Jason Sobel says this caddy-player spat is historic.
All of which makes this the biggest caddying dispute since the Dalai Lama – big hitter, the Lama – stiffed Carl Spackler, instead granting him total consciousness on his deathbed. There will be no stiffing of Williams this time, though. As the winning caddie, his traditional 10 percent cut equates to $140,000, making Woods’ take-home total of $58,500 for a 37th-place tie appear paltry by comparison.
While the animosity between the longtime player-caddie combination is boiling over now, don’t expect this story to linger until the time when Scott and Woods are paired together at a future tournament.
Gary Van Sickle says Adam Scott took all the Stevie talk in stride.
So he'll never forget how the Bridgestone Invitational fans, who were enthusiastic despite the big lead, serenaded him with cheers as he reached the green: "Ste-vie Will-iams! Ste-vie Will-iams!"
They cheered for his caddie, Steve Williams, the man who was on the bag for the seven titles Tiger Woods won at Firestone Country Club and who, recently released from that job, was about to win there for a stunning eighth time.
All Scott could do was laugh. "I had no idea how popular a New Zealander could be here," Scott said later. "They appreciate him a lot, I guess. It was fun to get support, whether for him or me. I don't care, it's the right team."
Gregg Doyel of CBSSports says Stevie takes narcissism to a new level.
And I've seen Deion Sanders strut for 50 yards. I've seen Alex Rodriguez kiss his reflection in the mirror. I've seen fighters flex their muscles after knockout wins and I've seen pitchers gyrate on the mound after striking out a batter, but all of those guys actually did something. They were the star. Stevie Williams? He's not the star. He's not even a supporting actor. He's one of those guys who never makes it on camera. What do you call those folks, a grip or a gaffer? A best boy? That's Stevie Williams. He's a best boy.
So on a pound-for-pound basis, he might be the single most narcissistic person in sports. That's saying a lot, but did you hear what Williams said Sunday night after he won the Bridgestone Invitational? He said a lot.
Oh, Williams won the event. Didn't you know that? The scorebook shows that someone named Adam Scott won the tournament by playing four rounds at 17 under par, but that's not the way it went down. Not in Stevie Williams' brain. No, in his mind, he won it.
Steve Elling noted the amazing transformation of Stevie from thug to fan favorite:
The dialogue cascading down the bleachers wasn't exactly subtle, either. Another man bellowed, "How do you like him now, Tiger?" prompting a thousand fans in the grandstands to snicker at Woods' expense all over again.
Ain't sports grand? All it took for Williams, 47, to become an embraceable, cuddly Kiwi folk hero was to be summarily canned after 12 loyal years of service by golf's reigning villain. Viola, the most popular man in Northern Ohio.
Just like that, Williams, a former rugby player who spent most of his time with Woods acting like a pit bull on a short leash to ensure his man didn't get run over by the fans, has morphed into a sympathetic figure, all because of the headline "Bagman gets the sack."
Most stunning of all may have been Stevie's admission that he hasn't been the most media friendly figure over the years. Not anymore! Jay Coffin reports:
With so much focus on Williams he was asked if he had discussed the recent attention with Scott and if Scott is comfortable with his new caddie getting more ink than him.
“I can’t help that,” Williams said. “I guess caddying for Tiger, I’ve probably been a bit unfair to the media sometimes. I realize I owe you guys something, so it’s no problem.”
Laura Hill tweeted a shot of the scrum around Stevie. A grand day for luggage handlers!
Bob Harig tracks down Tiger's ten-percenter, who says Stevie has it wrong that the firing took place over the phone.
Woods' agent, Mark Steinberg, disputed Williams' version of the story, saying first in an email and then later by phone that the firing did not take place until July 3.
"Tiger flew from Florida to Philly to visit AT&T National and also for the express purpose of PERSONALLY and officially telling Steve that they would no longer be working together," Steinberg said in the email. "Tiger felt strongly about meeting face to face. Any assertions to the contrary are simply false."
Asked specifically if Woods dismissed Williams when the caddie asked to work for Scott, Steinberg said no.
Why was he fired?
“Because I worked for Scotty,” Williams said. “Plain and simple.”
Williams confirmed Golfweek’s account of the story, that he had flown from New Zealand to the United States, thinking Woods was going to play in the U.S. Open. When he landed in America, he discovered that Woods had withdrawn. That was a bit unsettling to Williams, who then was asked by Scott if he could caddie for him. Woods sent a text that said it was okay, then tried to block the move.
But by then, Williams had committed to Scott and wasn’t going back on his word.
Nor would he let it affect him in any way!
