Tiger Woods’ former caddie has revealed that not only was Tiger “obsessed” with beating Jack Nicklaus’ record of 18 Major wins, they set a target of 21 while working together.
Steve Williams, who was on Tiger’s bag for 13 of his 15 Major wins between 1999 and 2011 told BBC Sport’s All About: Tiger Woods podcast that the great man was aiming for 20 Major wins before the caddie upped it by one for luck.
“Tiger was obsessed with breaking Jack’s record,” said Williams. “Tiger wanted to get to 20. I said 21 is my favourite number, so let’s make it 21 and when you get to 21 you’re not seeing me again. And he said that’s because I’m retiring too.
“We put every ounce of energy into that and I didn’t see any reason up until the stage where it all unfolded that he wasn’t going to eclipse Jack and it’s a shame it didn’t happen. When you’re caddying for someone like Tiger who’s on top of the game, it’s something else.
“He was just focused on winning Major championships. His whole goal was to eclipse Jack’s record, that’s what he wanted to do and his desire and work ethic to try and achieve that goal was second to none. We had a special relationship. He was best man at my wedding and we had a special bond.”
Williams said Woods’ win at all costs mantra meant caddying for him came with huge pressure, with nothing short of victory good enough.
“I felt a tremendous amount of pressure caddying for Tiger,” said Williams. “A successful week is just a win. Some guys are happy to be top five, top 10. If he doesn’t win, he’s not happy and when you get certain lengths of time when he’s not winning, it’s a tough job because you’re feeling the pressure.”
That pressure was at its peak just over 20 years ago when Woods – having already won the US Open, Open Championship and PGA Championship – headed to Augusta in 2001 knowing victory at the Masters would see him hold all four of golf’s Majors at the same time, what went on to become known as the ‘Tiger Slam’.
“He was adamant there was an opportunity with the rotation of courses that it could happen,” said Williams. “He’d just won the US Open by 15 strokes and the first thing he was thinking of was St Andrews. Amazingly, he played better at St Andrews than he did at Pebble. Those were the two best weeks in terms of overall performance.”
Ahead of next week’s Open Championship at St Andrews, Williams said Tiger’s two Open victories at the Home of Golf, in 2000 and 2005, were among his favourite memories.
“Nothing compares to that walk up the 18th, it’s the greatest walk in golf,” said the New Zealander, who also caddied for LIV Golf chief Greg Norman among others. “That big grandstand on the left, people lined up on the road on the right, hanging out of hotel windows. If you’re fortunate enough to come across that Swilcan Bridge and be in a situation where you’ve got the Open Championship in hand, that is a very special walk and fortunately Tiger and I have enjoyed that walk a couple of times.
“When The Open is held at St Andrews, it just goes up another notch, it’s a special place. It is the ultimate test, because depending on wind direction and hole placement you play down opposite fairways and they all have bunkers you can’t see and you’ve got to know exactly where those bunkers are. And you’ve got to know exactly where those pins are and which angle to come in from. It’s great when the wind blows because it makes it a real challenge.”
While Tiger may still harbour some ambition of catching Nicklaus’ record Major haul, realistically it’s unlikely the 46-year-old, whose last win was at the 2019 Masters, will surpass it. Williams reckons it’s unlikely anyone else will get close either.
He said: “I don’t think any other player is going to be in a position to try and while he didn’t, he gave it an unbelievable run, won four in a row and 15 Majors. What more can you say?”
