Tiger Woods’ ex-caddie revisits his greatest gaffe: ‘By no means been that nervous’

Ed word: Of Tiger Woods’ countless accomplishments, his fabled Tiger Slam of 2000-01 — when he concurrently held all 4 main titles — ranks close to, if not at, the highest. In any case, so many issues have to go proper for a participant to win one main, not to mention 4 straight, whereas so many issues may also go improper on a would-be street to greatness. Dangerous again. Chilly putter. Even a caddie misstep. Ask Steve Williams, who was Woods’ caddie throughout that historic four-for-four run.

Williams is a looping legend. He didn’t make many on-the-job errors, however he did make at the least one — and it was a biggie. It got here within the second spherical of the 2000 U.S. Open at Pebble Seashore, which Woods accomplished on Saturday on account of inclement climate. We choose up the motion on Friday night, as informed by Kevin Prepare dinner in his new e-book, “The Tiger Slam,” which captures the total scope of Woods’ streak in riveting and colourful element. It’s possible you’ll choose up a duplicate right here.

The next passage was excerpted with permission from “The Tiger Slam: The Inside Story of the Best Golf Ever Performed,” Avid Reader Press © 2024 by Kevin Prepare dinner

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The Tiger Slam

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Twenty-five years in the past, Tiger Woods achieved the best feat in golf historical past: the “Tiger Slam.” Now, for the primary time, the award-winning writer of Tommy’s Honor delivers a riveting account of Tiger at his most good—dominating the sport in a means we’ll by no means see once more.

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Woods spent a part of Friday night time training placing on the carpet in his room on the Lodge at Pebble Seashore. Asleep by midnight, he woke early on Saturday to fulfill his coach, Butch Harmon, and Williams on the vary at 5:00 a.m., leaving a couple of balls within the room. It was sweater climate. At first, the sunshine was worse than when the second spherical was known as on account of darkness, nevertheless it improved because the solar rose over the vary.

NBC pre-empted Saturday-morning cartoons and the Saturday version of the At present present for unscheduled “bonus protection” of golf starting at 6:30, Tiger Woods’s tee time. NBC Sports activities chief Dick Ebersol stated there was no coincidence behind the schedule change. “Within the TV age there have been two individuals who have attracted viewers past their sport, Muhammad Ali and Michael Jordan,” Ebersol stated. “Tiger Woods is clearly the third.” He wasn’t involved about dropping viewers if the chief blew the sphere away. Tiger’s 12-shot victory on the 1997 Masters was (and nonetheless is) the highest-rated golf telecast of all time.

It was going to be greater than a two-peanut-butter-and-banana-sandwich kind of day. Earlier than teeing off for what promised to be a marathon of a 3rd spherical, he needed to play Pebble’s final six holes with out giving strokes again to the sphere. He and Williams met Jim Furyk, Jesper Parnevik, and their caddies on the thirteenth tee. Whereas the gamers loosened up with a couple of last apply swings, Williams reached into Tiger’s golf bag for a ball and didn’t like what he discovered there.

There have been solely three Nike Tour Accuracys within the pouch that held them. Williams checked different pouches and located nothing however tees, sandwiches, and a raincoat. Tiger had left three balls, half their provide, in his lodge room.

No worries, Williams informed himself. Three balls could be loads to play the final six holes of the second spherical. It might most likely depart them with two additional. Williams wasn’t overly apprehensive when Tiger pulled his first drive of the morning into the tough and slashed out, leaving a scuff mark on his brand-new Nike ball, and tossed the ball to somewhat boy within the gallery. Now they have been down to 2. Williams thought of asking the boy to present the ball again however didn’t wish to make a scene on worldwide TV. “It wouldn’t be a very good look if Tiger Woods’s caddie took a ball off a cheerful child,” he recalled. “There could be tears.”

He saved his ideas to himself as his participant reached the 18th tee main the match at 9 underneath par. Then Hogan’s rattlesnake struck. After two and a half days of piercing fairways, Tiger launched a hook “midway to Hawaii,” as he put it later. He cursed himself: “Goddamn you, f–king prick!” An NBC microphone caught each syllable. Inside minutes, viewers have been phoning the community to complain about his language.

The identical mic caught Tiger’s subsequent phrase. Turning to Williams he caught out his hand and stated, “Ball.”

It was Williams’s worst second. The broad-shouldered Kiwi was maybe the fittest, hardest caddie on Earth in addition to essentially the most well-known, a distinction that went to whoever carried Tiger’s bag. He raced dirt-track vehicles again dwelling in New Zealand and saved tempo with the participant he known as “Tigah” on their frequent morning runs. Williams had laughed off automotive crashes, blisters, shin splints, and even the chaos of following round essentially the most seen golfer on the planet, however right here was a extra non-public discomfort. “I’ve by no means, ever been that nervous,” he recalled. “I’m standing there with my bottom trembling. My butt cheeks have been completely clamoring. I don’t wish to inform him it’s our final golf ball!”

Tiger was in no temper to face there ready. “Give me one other f–king ball.”

Williams had discovered his means right into a caddie’s nightmare. One a part of his job was checking their provide of balls earlier than each spherical. He had finished it earlier than the second spherical started however had forgotten to verify by the bag earlier than they resumed play on the again 9 that morning. Now he was afraid he may get his participant disqualified in the midst of the U.S. Open. Tiger, who knew the Guidelines of Golf in addition to anybody, may have informed him that the scenario wasn’t essentially so determined. Nevertheless it was sophisticated. The Guidelines of Golf permit a participant who runs out of balls to borrow one from one other golfer, supplied it’s the identical make and mannequin. That clause may need saved Williams’s bottom a month earlier than, when Tiger was teeing up the identical Titleist so many different gamers used, nevertheless it was no assist now. Just one participant within the area had even one Bridgestone-make Nike ball. Beneath the principles, a participant who borrows and makes use of a distinct mannequin of ball incurs a two- stroke penalty. Another choice could be for Williams to run to the clubhouse and purchase extra balls, however the Tour Accuracy wasn’t on sale in professional outlets. Or he may dash to Tiger’s lodge room to seize the three balls he had left behind, however he’d by no means make it again in time to keep away from a two-stroke penalty for gradual play. So that they have been two strokes both means.

Tiger knew none of that. Williams wasn’t about to inform him that if he hooked one other one to the seashore, he would lie 4 on the tee at Pebble’s 18th gap after two misplaced balls and two penalty strokes. Add one other penalty for utilizing certainly one of Furyk’s or Parnevik’s Titleists — now he’d be mendacity six. Not even he would be capable to knock a 543-yard drive from the tee into the cup for a double bogey. In that state of affairs, after mendacity six on the tee, he would wish to “birdie” the outlet to make a quintuple-bogey 10. There goes most, if not all, of the most important lead in U.S. Open historical past, with Williams responsible for the most important screw-up in caddying historical past.

He put Tiger’s driver again into the bag, silently keen him to play safer with a 3-wood off the tee this time. However Tiger was decided to swing the large stick. He reached for the driving force.

“Take your f–king hand off that,” Woods stated. “Give me the f–king driver!”

Williams handed it over. He watched and apprehensive whereas Tiger belted a drive to the right-hand aspect of the green. He was mendacity three with a tree, the lone cypress that stood in the midst of the green, blocking his method to the inexperienced. From there, a layup to the left was the smart play. He may nonetheless save his 6 with a wedge and a putt that means. “However he desires to hit a giant lower out over the ocean,” remembered Williams, who nonetheless didn’t admit they have been down to at least one ball. Lips zipped, he watched his man open the clubface of his 3-wood and bang an extended, looping left-to-right method that flirted with catastrophe all the best way to the inexperienced. Because it curled again over the savior bunker between the seashore and the final hundred yards of the green, Williams felt his bottom calm down. “My coronary heart fee didn’t return to regular till he’d reached the inexperienced and made bogey.”

Even after dropping a shot on a birdie gap, Tiger led by six strokes by two rounds. Nobody had ever held such a commanding lead on the halfway level of a U.S. Open. Later that morning, the sphere was trimmed to the customary prime 60 gamers plus ties plus anybody else inside 10 photographs of the lead. Tiger was thus far forward that the “inside 10 photographs” provision didn’t assist anyone. Solely 17 of the 63 golfers who survived to play the final two rounds have been inside 10 photographs of him.

Within the third spherical, on what was a brutal day for scoring, Woods shot even-par 71 to remain at eight underneath and open his result in 10. On Sunday, a closing 67 moved him to 12 underneath and put a cap on what was maybe essentially the most dominant week the sport has ever seen. Woods grew to become the primary participant in U.S. Open historical past to complete at double-digits underneath par, and his 15-shot win remains to be the most important margin of victory in main championship historical past.