Thought for the Day:Hard work pays off in the future, laziness pays off now
Runaway mouth
There is no doubt that Steve Williams, erstwhile caddy to Tiger Woods, is a boorish, arrogant, obnoxious, egotistical prat but racist? I don’t think so. You will almost certainly have noticed the media storm that has been whipped up by Williams’ insensitive, stupid remark at a private dinner during last week’s WGC HSBC Championship in China but just in case you missed it, while accepting a tongue-in-cheek award for ‘Celebration of the Year’, Williams said of Woods: ‘It was my aim to shove it right up that black asshole.’ He was talking about his first taste of victory on the bag of Adam Scott, shortly after being sacked by Woods, when he said in the immediate aftermath of the triumph that it was: ‘The best win of my career.’ But to put it in context, the caddy dinner is always a pretty raucous, irreverent occasion in which bad language and offensive comments are the norm – and where, by the way, there is a long-standing tradition that whatever is said in the room stays in the room. I think it is a measure of Williams’ unpopularity even among his peers that someone has broken ranks and fed the story to the media, and one of them is quoted as saying: ‘Never have you been in a room and seen so many jaws drop at the same time. We knew he was an idiot but we didn’t know he was a racist idiot.’
And of course, it is the use of the ‘black’ that has captured everyone’s attention, as it should. But while the remark is racist, I don’t think Williams is – and if that sounds double-Dutch the nearest parallel I can think of is that intelligent people can say or do stupid things: that doesn’t mean that they’re stupid.
Steve Williams worked for Tiger for 13 years. They shared 13 major wins, 72 victories around the world and numerous other highs, and comparatively few lows. They hugged and high-fived, played social golf together and Tiger was best man when Williams got married, so it is no surprise that Williams believed that the relationship was much more than employer/employee. And Woods himself described Williams as a friend as well as a caddy so it is little wonder that the bagman was so angry at being sacked. But if Williams is a racist, he did a very good job of disguising it for nearly a decade-and-a-half of a working relationship that has often been likened to a marriage.
Steve Williams is an idiot who was badly burned when a man who he regarded as a brother gave him the boot. As a result he has spoken without thinking, more than once and is yet again having to face the consequences of opening mouth before engaging brain. But let’s not hang him for being an idiot, or saddle him with the unjust label of racist.
It’s a small world
Americans are often accused of being parochial, and of having little interest in sporting events outside their own borders – unless, of course, they are being won by an American. So when the World Golf Championship (WGC) events were introduced a few years ago, in an effort to stage big money, high prestige tournaments around the world, open only to the best players, we hoped that might change. But visit the US PGA Tour website the day after the WGC HSBC Championship ended in China and you have to search to find the result – the main story is about the US Champions Tour.
This couldn’t possibly be because only one American, Hunter Mahan, made the top-10 in China, and that none of the few Yanks who made the trip ever looked liked winning, could it?
Welcome back
In addition to Martin Kaymer storming to victory in that WGC event, his first win since January, Graeme McDowell (3rd) looks to be finding a bit of form again, Paul Casey (tied 4th) reminded us how much we have missed him because of his injury problems and Justin Rose (tied 7th) stirred memories of how good he can be. And all this happened just a week after Sergio Garcia recorded back-to-back victories.
If Lee Westwood could only find a reliable putting stroke, my cup would runneth over.
TigerWatch
As of November 7, 2011, Tiger Woods is ranked 58th in the world
Quote of the week
Golf is the loneliest sport. You’re completely alone with every conceivable opportunity to defeat yourself. Golf brings out your assets and liabilities as a person. The longer you play, the more certain you are that a man’s performance is the outward manifestation of who, in his heart, he really thinks he is.
Hale Irwin
Hi
Just a quick note for anyone upgrading to the new handle.
1. It’s great – but takes a little getting used to.
2. Remember you can’t place anything else on the handle – like my gps clamp – didn’t think about that at the time so have had to come up with an alternative solution. Just FYI.
Hi Russell. Remember that you can still place any non-GoKart clamps (like the Skycaddie universal clamp) on the frame below the handle – and our new integral accessory fitting system means that GoKart accessories fit very neatly on the handle.