PACIFIC PALISADES, Calif. — It would be easy to say that Tiger Woods is the most intriguing person at the Genesis Invitational this week.
But what about his former caddie?
Steve Williams stood at the edge of the Riviera Country Club parking lot post-round on Thursday, bag slung over his shoulder, grinning with the satisfaction of a job well done.
“This is a great golf course. I love this place,” he said. “I haven’t caddied since 2019 out here, so it’s good to be out here again.”
Williams is 59 years old but ageless. He arrived on Thursday without any sleep but boasting a fresh shave and an outdoorsman’s tan. He helped guide Adam Scott to a first-round two-under 69.
For over a decade, Williams was the most famous caddie in the world, serving on Tiger Woods’ bag for 13 major championship victories. He returned to carry for Adam Scott from 2011 through 2017, a stint that included a 2013 Masters win. And he’d caddied on and off for Jason Day in the years that followed. But Thursday marked his first round on the PGA Tour in more than three seasons.
Scott has tapped Williams as a big-game hunter, dragging him from his New Zealand farm back into the fray — but only for the majors and the biggest events. (The pair reunited this December in Australia, and they finished runner-up at the ISPS Handa Australian Open.) Both are grizzled vets and professionals, too, keen on winning and winning now. Scott sees Williams as a key to peak performance.
The Genesis Invitational certainly fits in that big-game category. Scott has called it his favorite stop on Tour and has played like it, too, winning the event in 2020. He was eager to return this week — but his caddie almost didn’t make it.
Cyclone Gabrielle ripped through New Zealand’s North Island earlier this week, leaving a trail of destruction and flooding in its wake. Williams’ flight was canceled and his plans disrupted as very real issues swept through his home country.
“It was very difficult to get here. It was also very hard to leave,” he said. Williams’ sister-in-law was evacuated from her home at 3 a.m.; she came to stay with his family. His sister’s house has suffered extensive flooding. Williams finally arrived around 5 p.m. on Wednesday evening. But his mind was still at home.
“I didn’t sleep last night because it’s — when you’re there, it feels not real,” he said. “And when you get away, oh, it’s real, and you can’t stop just reading all about it. So I’m going to have a good sleep this afternoon.”
Thursday meant a return to some form of normalcy, as Williams had a bag and a player to tend to. Earlier in the week, when asked why Williams’ presence is so important, Scott cited his caddie’s intensity.
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“He’s a pretty intense guy,” he said. “Whether he was working for me or working for any other pro, whether he’s competing at driving his race car or whether he’s raking the leaves off his lawn at home, he’s an intense character once he gets his mind on something and I think that’s a good complement for my character out there.”
Williams agreed with that assessment.
“Most people know I’m not afraid to speak my mind,” he said. “So if I ever see that he might need to put his foot right down on the gas pedal, he gets my attention pretty quickly. If you’re out here and you’re competing, the talent pool is so deep, you have to be 100 percent tuned in to what you do.
“I guess years ago you could come out here and not have your ‘A’ game and still think you’re doing all right. But you’ve gotta be fully focused on what you’re doing out here. The competition is just so great.”
Scott made four birdies against two bogeys on Thursday, finishing with a birdie at No. 8 and a par at 9 before signing for 69. The round left him in the mix, five shots off the lead of Max Homa.
“It’s just funny how at different times in your life — he’s now hit a point where his kid’s grown up and probably doesn’t want to hang with Dad quite as much and he’s itching to get back out here,” Scott said pre-tournament. “And as much as he’d hate to admit it, it’s in his blood to be out here and caddie and he loves it, and I’m pleased that we’re going to have the opportunity to do a bit more together.”
The course and the caddie seemed to be more than enough to hold Scott’s attention on Thursday; Williams said his guy didn’t need any sort of extra encouragement.
“No, no, he’s in good form,” he said. “Really pleased.”