Tiger Woods’ former caddie Steve Williams was once left quaking in his boots after nearly making an unforgivable mistake at the US Open. The pair worked together from 1999 to 2011, with their partnership spanning the glory years of Woods’ career. In that timeframe, he won 13 major titles and cemented his legacy as arguably the greatest golfer to have ever lived.
One of Woods’ greatest triumphs came at the US Open in 2000, where he breezed to victory with an unprecedented margin of 15 strokes. To this day, it remains the most dominant performance and victory of any major championship. However, it nearly turned into a disaster when Williams made a rookie mistake during the second round.
He was nearly caught short after packing just three balls in Woods’ bag for the last six holes at Pebble Beach, as told by Kevin Cook in his book The Tiger Slam. The other balls had been left in a hotel room, meaning there was little room for error on the course.
The round got off to a nightmare start, with Woods pulling his very first drive into the rough and scuffing his ball. He ended up giving it to a small boy in the crowd but, unbeknownst to him, Williams was getting nervous with the number of spares down to just two.
Williams considered asking the boy to give the ball back, but decided against it because he thought it would cause a scene. He recalled: “It wouldn’t be a good look if Tiger Woods’ caddie took a ball off a happy kid. There would be tears.”
Shortly afterwards, a frustrated Woods hooked another wayward drive and demanded another ball, leaving Williams racked with fear. He did not have the courage to admit that he only had one golf ball left in the bag.
“I have never, ever been that nervous,” he said. “I am standing there with my backside trembling. My butt cheeks were absolutely clamouring. I don’t want to tell him it’s our last golf ball.”
At the final hole, Williams silently pleaded with Woods to play with a three-wood off the tee, but the Big Cat was determined to swing the big stick. He told his caddie: “Take your f****** hand off that and give me the f****** driver.”
Fortunately for the pair, Woods managed to keep his last remaining golf ball within bounds to avert a disaster. Williams admitted: “My heart rate didn’t return to normal until he’d reached the green and made bogey.”
Woods ended up leading by six strokes at the close of play and went on to extend his advantage, eventually claiming the title with a dominant display of golfing prowess.
