We will remember the 2000 season for Tiger Woods as one of the best in the sport’s history. He had three wins in a row: nine international wins and 17 top-10 results, which was outstanding. And who supported him, giving him the advice to turn his game around? It was none other than his long-time caddie Steve Williams. Not to mention, he also caddied for the LIV CEO Greg Norman from 1982 to 1989. But, as impressed as he was with Woods, Norman’s decisions disappointed Williams.
During an episode of the Chasing Majors podcast last year, Williams explained how Norman’s ball choice proved terrible. He started by appreciating Woods and said, “When Tiger went to that Nike ball, it absolutely suited him.” Then he went back to the 1980s, where Norman’s one decision disappointed Williams and took his career for a spiral. According to him, the retired golfer used to play Spalding. However, it did not go the way they expected.
Williams explained what went wrong and said, “this new golf ball — and that ball was so detrimental to his career. It was the worst thing he ever did. That ball would’ve cost him two shots a round.” He further explained how Norman could have won if he had not made that decision. He explained, “If he would’ve ended up playing a different ball at Augusta, he would’ve won the tournament.” Norman’s ball spun way too much than required, costing him the win.
However, he justified and said that those days did not have trackers like TrackMan. Therefore, knowing how far the ball was going took a lot of work. But he stated the difference between the two pros and said, “You just thought this ball spins good. That’s the exact opposite of what Tiger did here.” And we are also aware that the two prominent golf names are rivals and are very different from each other. Even their Tour choices don’t match.
Although Williams didn’t get to win with Norman as much as he won with Woods, he knew how both players worked. After years of experience, he understood whatever decisions they made were right and wrong. While the HOF caddie supported the ball changes the 15-time major champion made, he revealed how it put a black mark on the White Shark’s career.
Source : essentiallysports
