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The AP is reporting that Tiger Woods has fired his caddie of 12 years Steve Williams after their treasured friendship went sour in recent months.
Williams stood by Woods through his sex scandal and divorce, a major swing change on the golf course and the loss of four major corporate sponsors off it.
But in recent months, according to the AP, Williams felt like an outsider the way he was kept in the dark about Woods’ schedule and recovery from leg injuries. Also, Woods was said to be annoyed when his caddie chose to work for Adam Scott at the U.S. Open, then signed up to work for the Australian again at the AT&T National and the British Open.
One of golf’s most successful player-caddie partnerships ended in a board room at Aronimink Golf Club outside Philadelphia two weeks ago when Woods fired his caddie. They both kept the news private until Wednesday, when Woods announced on his website that he and Williams will no longer be working together.
Williams posted a statement on his website that showed this was anything but an amicable split.
“Needless to say, this came as a shock,” said Williams, who changed the photo on his website to show him carrying Scott’s bag. “Given the circumstances of the past 18 months working through Tiger’s scandal, a new coach and with it a major swing and Tiger battling through injuries, I am very disappointed to end our very successful partnership at this time.”
Woods said on his website: “I want to express my deepest gratitude to Stevie for all his help, but I think it’s time for a change. Stevie is an outstanding caddie and a friend and has been instrumental in many of my accomplishments. I wish him great success in the future.”
Woods didn’t say who would replace Williams — one of only two caddies he has employed on a regular basis — or when he might return to golf.
Seve Ballesteros, one of golf’s most gifted and charismatic players, has died after a long battle with cancer.
The 54-year-old passed away surrounded by his family at his home in Pedrena, northern Spain, in the early hours of Saturday morning.
Ballesteros was diagnosed with a brain tumour in 2008 after losing consciousness at Madrid Airport.
The five-time major winner had four operations to remove the tumour as well as undergoing chemotherapy.
The funeral will take place on Wednesday at the San Pedro parish church in his home village of Pedrena, near Santander.
In a statement, the Ballesteros family expressed gratitude for the “support and gestures of love” they had received and asked for “respect and privacy at such a painful time”.
Ballesteros, who claimed 87 titles over his career, won the Open in 1979, 1984 and 1988 and became the first European to win the Augusta Masters in 1980, repeating the feat in 1983.
He also enjoyed a successful Ryder Cup career as both player and captain – playing in eight Ryder Cups and winning 20 points from 37 matches before guiding Europe to victory over the United States at Valderrama in 1997.
But it was his daring and flamboyant style that made Ballesteros special, transforming the image of golf and bringing a whole new audience to the sport.
Tiger Woods has what he calls a minor knee injury and will miss the Wells Fargo Championship next week at Quail Hollow, reports the AP.
Woods says on his website that he has mild sprains of a ligament in his left knee and left Achilles’ tendon. He hurt himself while hitting from an awkward lie on the 17th hole during the third round of the Masters. He continued to play and wound up tied for fourth.
Woods says doctors advise rest and therapy using cold water. He hopes to return in a few weeks.
Woods had also planned to participate in The Players Championship in mid-May.
Tiger Woods has once again ended a calendar year as golf’s top moneymaker, despite suffering a pay cut of $48 million after losing his swing and his marriage and failing to win a single tournament.
The American world number two, who celebrated his 35th birthday on Thursday, topped Golf Digest magazine’s annual list for 2010 with overall earnings of $74.2 million, reports the Associated Press. Of that, only $2.29 million came from tournament purses with the rest accumulated off-course through endorsements and appearance fees.
Fellow American Phil Mickelson was second with total earnings of $40.18 million, followed by Arnold Palmer ($36 million), Greg Norman fourth ($30 million) and Jack Nicklaus fifth ($25.17 million).
Overall earnings were compiled by Golf Digest through interviews with agents, players, executives of companies involved with endorsements, industry analysts and also via the official money lists of the leading professional tours.
In 2009, Woods dominated the standings with $121.9 million but his earnings have dipped following his unexpected fall from grace after being engulfed by a sex scandal.
His troubles led such firms as AT&T and Accenture to end sponsorship deals, costing Woods up to $35 million in annual revenue.
He ended his PGA Tour season without a single title for the first time since he turned professional in 1996 and was deposed as world number one by Britain’s Lee Westwood on November 1.
However, since Woods joined forces with Canadian swing coach Sean Foley after the PGA Championship in August, his form has steadily improved and he remains the biggest drawcard in the game.
He is still paid more than $60 million annually by Nike, Electronic Arts, Procter & Gamble’s Gillette, Berkshire Hathaway’s NetJets unit, LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton’s Tag Heuer, Upper Deck and TLC Laser Vision Centers.
The PGA Tour had not completely opened up to minorities until Tiger swung his “Cablanasian” self through the doors over a decade ago. Now another has come along to possibly walk in the footsteps of Woods or exceed them. According to the AP, he’s only the second professional golfer of “black descent” to earn a PGA Tour card.
Joseph Bramlett, like Tiger, also attended Stanford and the 22-year old is watching his dream come true. He told reporters about his achievement saying, ”Like I’ve said before, it’s been a long time. I’m just thrilled to see it start to change.”
It appears that Tiger will finally have a little competition out there. Woods Twittered: ”Congrats to Joe Bramlett for making it through Q School” and ”Amazing feat considering he sat out a whole year with wrist injury. Can’t wait to play with him next season.”
Tiger Woods’s record five-year reign as the world’s top-ranked golfer is over.
In yet another low point in a challenging 12 months for the 14-time major champion, Lee Westwood took over the top spot in the Official World Golf Ranking for the first time, becoming the only European player to top the list since Nick Faldo in 1994.
Westwood was ranked as low as 266th seven years ago and is only the fourth player to gain the top spot without winning a major tournament.
“When you’re growing up and people say, ‘What do you want to achieve,’ everyone says ‘I want to be the best in the world,’” Westwood said in comments posted on the European Tour website. “Right at this moment, I can show people the world rankings and say ‘I am the best on the planet.’”
Woods drops to No. 2 and U.S. PGA champion Martin Kaymer remains third in the rankings. Phil Mickelson is fourth and Steve Stricker rounds out the top five.
Woods’s personal and professional life began to unravel after he crashed his Cadillac into a fire hydrant while leaving his Florida home early on Nov. 27. The incident revealed an extensive history of infidelity, which Woods confessed to in December, leading to his divorce in August.
Woods lost sponsors including Accenture Plc, AT&T Inc. and Procter & Gamble Co.’s Gillette razors, and failed to win a tournament this year after taking a break of almost five months.
Woods, 34, spent 281 consecutive weeks as No. 1 and 623 weeks in total atop the rankings. His next tournament is the World Golf Championships’ HSBC Champions in China from Nov. 4-7, according to his website. Westwood is also scheduled to play in the tournament.
Don’t look for Elin Woods on Oprah, but you may see her shopping. Elin got a divorce settlement worth $100 million from Tiger Woods, but there are restrictions. She can never speak about her marriage to Tiger: no interviews, no tell alls, no TV appearances. She will have sole custody of their young children, but Tiger will have extensive visitation rights. Tiger has restrictions too. He can’t let the bimbos….. (err..my bad!) girlfriends near their children. Elin, at the age of 30, is going to be one of the richest single moms in the world.
Is Elin Woods worth $750 million? Elin is out for blood. In addition to the money, she wants full custody of her children with Golfer Tiger Woods. She also refuses to sign a confidentiality agreement. The marriage is over, and Elin wants to leave the country and move back to her native Sweden. In the meantime, Tiger has reportedly found another blonde to have
Tiger’s Wife ‘Wants More Money than Jordan’s Ex Got’. Us Weekly is claiming that Elin Nordegren’s motivation for seeking $750 million in her divorce from Tiger Woods is based on a desire to outdo the $168 million haul won by Michael Jordan’s ex-wife in their split. “She wants more money than Michael Jordan’s ex got,” claims a source, who adds that Tiger’s legal team told him he can’t date anyone until the divorce is finalized. “Elin’s building a character case [based on his serial philandering],” the insider says. “Elin’s team is watching his every move.” As for custody of the kids Sam, 2, and Charlie, 15 months, “They’ll share it,” says the snitch. “But she wants permission to take them to Sweden whenever she wants.”
The Retirement Dinner
A priest was being honored at his retirement dinner after 25 years in the Parish. A leading local politician and member of the congregation was chosen to make the presentation and to give a little speech at the dinner. However, he was delayed, so the priest decided to say his own few words while they waited.
“I got my first impression of the parish from the first confession I heard here. I thought I had been assigned to a terrible place. The very first person who entered my confessional told me he had stolen a television set and, when questioned by the police, was able to lie his way out of it. He had stolen money from his parents, embezzled from his employer, had an affair with his boss’s wife, taken illegal drugs and gave an STD to his sister. I was appalled. But, as the days went on, I learned that my people were not all like that and I had, indeed come to a fine parish full of good and loving people …..”
Just as the priest finished his talk, the politician arrived full of apologies at being late. He immediately began to make the presentation and gave his talk:
“I’ll never forget the first day our parish priest arrived,” said the politician. “In fact, I had the honor of being the first person to go to him for confession.”
Moral: Never, never, never ever be late.