Steve Williams is taking the break up with Tiger Woods more to heart than Tiger's wife Elin Nordegren did.
Williams should have asked her for advice on how to handle the split. She would have suggested hitting Tiger's car with a golf club and then remaining tightlipped and private from that point on.
It has worked wonders in terms of her keeping her dignity and the sympathy of others. Steve, however, didn't take a leaf out of Nordegren's book.
Instead, he has taken the "divorce" from the man he caddied for from 1999 to 2011 hard.
On his official website (yes, a caddy has a website), he expressed "shock" at the end of their successful 13-year partnership after staying loyal to Tiger during all his scandals, swing changes, and injuries.
Loyalty seems to be a big thing in Williams' ethos, and he strikes me as someone you wouldn't want to double-cross or upset.
He just couldn't resist taking a dig at Tiger when Adam Scott, the man he currently caddies for, won the 2011 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational. He stated in an interview with CBS that after caddying for 33 years "this is the best week of my life".
Who would have thought a simple statement like that could cause such a divet in the golfing world? It is well known that Steve's never been one for mincing his words or being polite on the golf course. In the past he has made disparaging comments about the likes of Phil Mickelson and left no-one in doubt that they don't get along.
Like Woods, he is tenacious, focused, and military in his approach to his job, which is why their partnership may have lasted longer than Tiger's marriage did! They were both brought up on the golf course with pushy fathers.
Williams started caddying at the young age of 6 and by the age of 16 he had decided caddying was a career he wanted to pursue so he left school to do it.
Although critics of Williams claim he isn't anything more than a glorified butler, being a caddy is much more than carrying bags and clubs.
Since 1999, he has defended Tiger on and off the golf course as a caddy, henchman, and chaperone (considering all the affairs, maybe he wasn't so good at this? Maybe he was more of a wingman?).
He was known for telling eager fans where to stick their cameras using colourful language, and if they didn't comply he'd throw their expensive equipment in the nearest water hazard. Caddies must also give insightful advice and provide moral support, but only when asked by the golfer.
They are like the co-driver, silent strategist, and supportive wife in the background. The power imbalance in the relationship is taken-for-granted and, supposedly, accepted by both parties.
Personally, I find the whole hierarchical relationship between golfers and caddies difficult to embrace.
I know I hated caddying for my Dad on the Piopio Golf Course and still resist having to be meek and mild in any relationship to this day! Being a caddy is definitely not for everyone, but if you're good at it you can make a great living out of it.
Williams is anything but meek and mild as a caddy, and during his time with Tiger, he has made millions, set up a charitable foundation to assist junior golfers in New Zealand, won speedway races, and donated $1 million to a cancer ward at Starship Children's Health.
Williams is successful because it looks like he is a competitive, all or nothing kind of guy.
He is great at his job but his one downfall is his failure to edit his emotions toward overbearing fans and his golfers. He has since admitted himself that his comments after Adam Scott's win were "a bit over the top".
He was fired by Greg Norman in 1989 because, as he admitted, he may have gotten too close personally to him. Has he done the same with Tiger? Woods attended his wedding in 2005 and observed Williams compete in his other passion that of speedway racing.
Like Nordegren, he initially had the sympathy of others when unceremoniously dumped by Tiger in July. But Steve has since trampled on golf etiquette on so many levels with his uncensored media moment.
He has managed to take the limelight away from Adam Scott and disrespected his previous employer in one interview.
I'm sure with a readjustment of his focus, he'll manage to get himself out of the rough and back on the fairway in no time.
His livelihood depends on it.
