Bill Plaschke: Take a bow, Steve Williams ... now go away
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All praise Steve Williams, the golfing celebrity who fought through controversy and disappointment last weekend to hear thousands of fans chanting his name as he won the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational and … wait a minute.
Steve Williams didn’t win. Adam Scott won.
Steve Williams only carried the clubs. Adam Scott actually swung them.
Yet it was Williams who heard the loudest applause, it was Williams who conducted the main post-match interview, it was Williams who stole the show from a golfer who won with the lowest tournament score in 11 years.
And it is Williams who should now shut up and disappear.
Please. This caddy needs to be shacked. Long considered one of golf’s most classless figures, Williams outdid himself Sunday by using the furor over being fired by Tiger Woods to overshadow his new golfer’s success.
OK, so Williams was on the bag for Woods’ greatest moments, 12 years, 13 major championships, 72 overall wins. And, yes, it seemed rather sudden when Woods fired Williams last month after keeping him on a leash for two years of infrequent paychecks and plenty of purgatory. But, still, Woods had long since made Williams one of the richest golfing figures who never struck a drive or made a putt. Woods was simply exercising the right used by golfers every week. So he decided to change his caddy. So what? It stinks for caddies, but it’s part of their job description, and it’s never an excuse to steal the show from your boss.
But that’s Steve Williams. Woods created a monster, and Williams’ ugliness knew no limits. Williams was never the star, but he always acted like it. He bullied fans, scolded the media, and would even publicly rip opposing players –- remember his criticism of Phil Mickelson?
Adam Scott clearly cringed Sunday afternoon while watching Williams’ misguided victory march. After imitating the old Tiger Woods on the golf course, Scott now needs to imitate him in the clubhouse.
He needs to fire Steve Williams again.
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