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

Ed be aware: 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 must go proper for a participant to win one main, not to mention 4 straight, whereas so many issues also can go improper on a would-be highway 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 no less than one — and it was a biggie. It got here within the second spherical of the 2000 U.S. Open at Pebble Seaside, which Woods accomplished on Saturday on account of inclement climate. We choose up the motion on Friday night, as informed by Kevin Cook dinner in his new ebook, “The Tiger Slam,” which captures the complete scope of Woods’ streak in riveting and colourful element. Chances are 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 Cook dinner

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The Tiger Slam

$25

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 manner we are going to 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 Seaside. 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 number of balls within the room. It was sweater climate. At first, the sunshine was worse than when the second spherical was referred to as on account of darkness, however 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 mentioned 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 mentioned. “Tiger Woods is clearly the third.” He wasn’t involved about shedding viewers if the chief blew the sector 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 sector. He and Williams met Jim Furyk, Jesper Parnevik, and their caddies on the thirteenth tee. Whereas the gamers loosened up with a number of remaining 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 lots to play the final six holes of the second spherical. It might in all probability go away them with two additional. Williams wasn’t overly anxious 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 slightly boy within the gallery. Now they had been down to 2. Williams considered asking the boy to provide the ball again however didn’t need to make a scene on worldwide TV. “It wouldn’t be a superb look if Tiger Woods’s caddie took a ball off a cheerful child,” he recalled. “There could be tears.”

He stored his ideas to himself as his participant reached the 18th tee main the match at 9 beneath 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 had 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 mentioned, “Ball.”

It was Williams’s worst second. The broad-shouldered Kiwi was maybe the fittest, hardest caddie on Earth in addition to probably the most well-known, a distinction that went to whoever carried Tiger’s bag. He raced dirt-track automobiles again dwelling in New Zealand and stored tempo with the participant he referred to as “Tigah” on their frequent morning runs. Williams had laughed off automotive crashes, blisters, shin splints, and even the chaos of following round probably 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 had been completely clamoring. I don’t need 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 manner right into a caddie’s nightmare. One a part of his job was checking their provide of balls earlier than each spherical. He had accomplished it earlier than the second spherical started however had forgotten to test by the bag earlier than they resumed play on the again 9 that morning. Now he was afraid he would possibly get his participant disqualified in the course of the U.S. Open. Tiger, who knew the Guidelines of Golf in addition to anybody, may have informed him that the state of affairs wasn’t essentially so determined. However it was difficult. The Guidelines of Golf enable 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, however it was no assist now. Just one participant within the area had even one Bridgestone-make Nike ball. Below the principles, a participant who borrows and makes use of a special 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 sluggish play. So that they had been two strokes both manner.

Tiger knew none of that. Williams wasn’t about to inform him that if he hooked one other one to the seaside, 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 one in all 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 situation, after mendacity six on the tee, he would want 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 in charge for the most important screw-up in caddying historical past.

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

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

Williams handed it over. He watched and anxious whereas Tiger belted a drive to the right-hand aspect of the golf green. He was mendacity three with a tree, the lone cypress that stood in the course of the golf green, blocking his approach 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 manner. “However he desires to hit an enormous lower out over the ocean,” remembered Williams, who nonetheless didn’t admit they had been down to at least one ball. Lips zipped, he watched his man open the clubface of his 3-wood and bang a protracted, looping left-to-right strategy that flirted with catastrophe all the way in which to the inexperienced. Because it curled again over the savior bunker between the seaside and the final hundred yards of the golf green, Williams felt his bottom chill out. “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 sector was trimmed to the customary prime 60 gamers plus ties plus anybody else inside 10 pictures of the lead. Tiger was to this point forward that the “inside 10 pictures” provision didn’t assist anyone. Solely 17 of the 63 golfers who survived to play the final two rounds had been inside 10 pictures of him.

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