More on #TigerWoods - #SteveWilliams split

Guess we won't be seeing this any more.

Yesterday, I blogged the basics of Tiger Woods firing long-time caddie Steve Williams, who was on the bag for all but one of his 14 majors titles.

Fired him, not released him to look for other golfers while Tiger continues to rehab. That this was a stunner is clear from Williams' comments, even though he knew about it a couple of weeks ago (see further below):

"Needless to say this came as a shock," Williams said. "Given the circumstances of the past 18 months working through Tiger's scandal, a new coach and with it a major swing change and Tiger battling through injuries, I am very disappointed to end our very successful partnership at this time."

WTF? As in "fired," not let him go to work for other golfers as Tiger's rehab time lengthens.

There's been about nobody more loyal, at least on the surface, to Tiger the last 2 years. Is he trying to hit new personal lows?

That said, ESPN (above) trimmed some parts of the AP story, which says Williams knew about this two weeks ago.

Williams told The Associated Press that he met with Woods in a board room at Aronimink after the final round of the AT&T National and told him they would no longer work together. Williams said he chose to keep quiet out of respect to Scott, not wanting the Australian to face queries from the British media at Royal St. George’s.

That's class. Real class on Williams' part and "class" with snark on Woods' part.

Williams reveals more on class vs. "class":

In a telephone interview, Williams said he was not upset by being fired and said he was proud to have been fired only twice in his 33 years as a caddie—by Woods and Norman.

“But I’m disappointed in the timing of it,” he said. “To be as loyal as someone can be, and with what one had to go through over the last 18 months . . . “

Move on, Stevie. Oh, and don't be such a cameraman thug for Adam Scott. Lighten up. (I think you will.)

Williams is commenting yet more today.

"I've stuck by him through and through," Williams told 3 News. "Now he decides things aren't going well for him, and I'm down the road, so the timing's very disappointing."

He suggested that Woods would need to work hard to rebuild their friendship.

"First of all, the person has to gain your respect, and that's something that I feel Tiger has to work hard on," he added, while confirming he will choose his words carefully when he comes to tell his side of golf's most famous modern partnership.

But wait, that's not all.

Robert Lusetich has more on Williams' loyalty after the Escalade escapade, even though it was unrewarded.

At first glance, he can come off as Luca Brasi to Woods’ Don Corleone — a one–dimensional brutish enforcer — but in reality Williams, while unapologetically loyal, is a far more nuanced man. ...

While researching “Unplayable,” my 2010 book on Woods, I asked someone close to him for one word to describe what he was really like.

Complicated, came the answer.

Just how complicated is now obvious for all to see, because there was no rational reason for Woods to end the most successful golfer–caddie team in history.

Finally, Lusetich has the best answer for the "why" question I've seen yet:

But end it he did, out of nothing more substantial than hubris.

Neither Woods nor Williams is publicly talking about what prompted the split.

Woods’ statement that “it’s time for a change” is as laughably generic as the old standard, “irreconcilable differences,” offered up in Hollywood divorces.

Though it’s true that they’ve grown somewhat apart over the past 18 months — Woods relies almost entirely these days on his manager, Mark Steinberg — those close to the situation say that Williams was fired simply because he’d filled in as a caddie for Adam Scott.

Last month, Williams had flown from New Zealand to his summer home in Oregon believing he’d be joining Woods at Congressional Country Club.

But a day after he arrived came the news that the injuries to Woods’ left leg were going to keep him out of the US Open.

With Woods sidelined, and seeing that he was already in the US, it seemed innocuous enough to Williams to answer an SOS from his old friend, (Adam) Scott, who’d just parted ways with longtime caddie Tony Navarro and needed someone to step in while he looked for a permanent replacement.

But it wasn’t innocuous to Woods, who wasn’t happy to be sharing his caddie with another player.

Hubris, or jealousy? Sounds like that is the bottom line.

Williams is clearly, to use his word, “disappointed,” but he shouldn’t be.

He should’ve known there was every chance that this day would come because Woods is a control freak and Williams won’t be controlled.

One big takeaway? The Tiger Woods of the past 18 months, post-Escalade, is just as much a fake, a persona, as pre-crash Tiger.

Those of us who aren't Woodsaholics probably had some suspicion of that already but, like Williams, were giving Tiger the benefit of the doubt. That said, I'm interested in how many Woodsaholics will give up the addiction now.

That said, there's other takeaways, namely one big one.

Tiger's done for the year. He's not going to pick up a new looper on the fly and be competitive in the PGA Championship or even at Firestone. And, he'll finish outside the top 125 on the FedEx chase anyway. So, he's done for the year, as far as results, even if he plays.

And, speaking of that? Lusetich continues:

Scott gladly has hired Williams but the word is Woods wants to play at the Bridgestone Invitational in the first week of August but doesn’t yet have a caddie.

The two loopers he most respects, Billy Foster and Joe LaCava, he may not be able to get.

The happy–go–lucky Englishman Foster isn’t likely to leave Lee Westwood and doesn’t want to relocate to the United States. LaCava’s just left his longtime employer, Fred Couples, to start with Dustin Johnson, a player with tremendous upside.

And, a Tiger who could still do nothing more than putt two weeks ago wants to play at Firestone anyway? He'll get smoked. I actually hope he does play, and does worse than a year ago.

And, I hope Adam Scott wins a major, soon, with Williams on his bag.

Yahoo's Devil Ball Golf has another takeaway:

The loss of Williams could be hugely damaging on the course as well as in the court of public opinion. Williams is 13 years older than Woods, and while he didn't give off a "father figure" vibe, he certainly had it in him to guide Woods in certain directions -- on the course, at least -- while keeping more intrusive elements like the media and the galleries at bay. Whoever takes on the job of caddying Woods, and there are no serious candidates as yet, will have to be part psychologist, part bouncer, an enforcer with Zen calm.

Yeah, Williams was a photographer bruiser. And Tiger benefited from it. Let's see what his next caddy does.

Elsewhere, Rick Reilly has advice for Tiger that he'll likely never follow.

At the same time, he offers a further window yet onto Woods:

New Normal #5: Spread it around a little.

Look, everybody knows you're the cheapest guy on tour. Some people are sure your wallet is sewn shut. I know a car valet in L.A. that you've stiffed so many times, he feels like he's full of embalming fluid. The last time he saw you, he stood in front of the car door, making small talk until you made with a fiver.

A person like that ain't changing that much that easily.

Finally, could Tiger have won all 13 majors for which Williams looped using any caddy? Contra Michael Collins at ESPN, I doubt it.

I very much doubt he would have won the 2008 U.S. Open without Williams, off the top of my head. Ditto on some of his other close victories. Let's not forget that only four of his 10 majors wins since 2000 were by more than 2 shots.

In fact, in this ESPN story, Tiger admits that Williams' one club call, alone, was key to getting him into a playoff with Rocco Mediate.

Here's Hank Haney pointing out Williams as part of Tiger's success:

"He was just a great caddie, especially under pressure. Everyone is nervous when the tournament is on the line. The players are nervous, the caddies are nervous. I never sensed that Steve Williams had any choke in him at all. Do you know how many tournaments he won [as a caddie]? It was over 100 [144 total]. How many with Raymond Floyd? With Greg Norman? He's not just getting lucky all the time.''

I would be fairly surprised if Tiger wins another major; I'd be hugely surprised if he passes Nicklaus.