Tiger Woods‘ longtime caddie, Joe LaCava, will be carrying Patrick Cantlay‘s bag for the foreseeable future, starting with this week’s Wells Fargo Championship.
According to ESPN, Woods’ agent, Mark Steinberg, the move was approved by the 15-time major winner.
“Joe called Tiger to ask him and get his approval,” said Steinberg. “Of course, Tiger gave it. Tiger and Joe are like brothers, tremendous friends.
“You shouldn’t read anything more in to that other than Joe wants to caddie. He loves it. It’s his passion. He’s great at it and one of the best.”
Woods, 47, announced in April that he’d undergone surgery to repair his right ankle, caused by injuries incurred during a February 2021 car accident.
Since returning from the accident in 2022, Woods has made just five starts over parts of two seasons, with a T45 his best result. With the latest medical setback, he is expected to miss the rest of 2023 season and possibly parts of 2024.
LaCava was hired by Woods in 2011 after he fired longtime caddie Steve Williams for working with Adam Scott. Before partnering with Woods, LaCava was the caddie for a young, up and coming Dustin Johnson. The split from Johnson, after only months on the job, caused controversy at the time, with DJ’s team calling out Woods for “not calling Dustin” before hiring LaCava.
“The thing that bothered me the most was TW (Tiger Woods) not calling Dustin and asking if he could talk to Joe,” said Johnson’s swing coach Butch Harmon, who used to work with Woods.
“That’s the way it’s done. I’m a little disappointed with the way Tiger handled it. But I’m not surprised.”
LaCava was on the bag for Woods’ comeback in 2012 and 2013 when the pair racked up eight wins, and again for another comeback attempt in 2018 and 2019, highlighted by wins at the 2018 Tour Championship and 2019 Masters.
LaCava replaces Matt Minister, Cantlay’s caddie since 2017.
