Tiger Woods’ new caddie makes debut at Genesis Invitational

In case somehow you haven’t heard, Tiger Woods is starting yet another comeback this week at the 2024 Genesis Invitational, his first official start since the 2023 Masters. The 15-time major champion will also debut a new caddie on Thursday. Here’s everything we know about Tiger Woods’ new caddie.

Who is Tiger Woods’ new caddie?

When Tiger soft-launched his comeback at the Hero World Challenge event in the Bahamas in December, he also had a new caddie on the bag.

That’s because Tiger’s longtime caddie Joe LaCava, who began carrying Tiger’s bag in 2011 and helped him to 11 wins including the 2019 Masters, recently left Woods’ employ and began working with Patrick Cantlay.

Putters

That initial move wasn’t a shock. After experiencing so much time off with injuries, Woods gave LaCava his support to find more consistent work.

So at the Hero, Woods needed a new looper, but he wasn’t quite ready to name a full-time replacement. So instead, Woods’ friend Rob McNamara carried his bag.

But now with a real tournament to contend with in the Genesis, Tiger needed an experienced pro caddie who could help him back to the winner’s circle.

And he found him. On Tuesday, Woods showed up to Riviera with veteran Tour caddie Lance Bennett carrying his bag.

Bennett, who has caddied on Tour since 2003, has much experience looping in the pro ranks, including a lengthy stint with Matt Kuchar, shorter spans with Sungjae Im and Davis Riley, and also some work on the LPGA Tour.

There is no word yet on how long Bennett, a father of three, will claim the choice gig on Tiger’s bag, but Woods did reveal more about their relationship during his pre-tournament press conference on Wednesday.

“As far as Lance is concerned,” Woods said Wednesday, “I’ve had a great relationship with him over the years going back to when he caddied for [Matt Kuchar] and when we played at the Presidents Cup together back in, what, Muirfield Village.”

“Very down to earth, very loyal and how he conversated through the years, I’ve also taken notice of that,” Woods said of Bennett. “We’ve had the same type of feels in how we look at the golf course and how we read putts; they’re very similar.” 

Woods and Bennett will officially start their working relationship when Tiger tees off for the first round of the Genesis on Thursday at 12:25 p.m. ET.

Kevin Cunningham

Golf.com Editor

As managing producer for GOLF.com, Cunningham edits, writes and publishes stories on GOLF.com, and manages the brand’s e-newsletters, which reach more than 1.4 million subscribers each month. A former two-time intern, he also helps keep GOLF.com humming outside the news-breaking stories and service content provided by our reporters and writers, and works with the tech team in the development of new products and innovative ways to deliver an engaging site to our audience.