Tiger Woods Caddy Is a Reluctant Star
MEDINAH, Ill. – Friday was perhaps the closest thing that Joe LaCava's dream job will ever come to a nightmare. His boss, Tiger Woods, couldn't do much on or around the greens in his second consecutive round of one-under-par 71 at the BMW Championship, and LaCava could not hide anywhere from fans who passed him all the way around Medinah Country Club .
"Congratulations, Joe!" They called to LaCava, which was inaugurated this week in the Caddy Hall of Fame at a ceremony held by the Western Golf Association, which runs the BMW championship, the second of three FedEx Cup playoff events.
"I just don't feel comfortable with the attention," LaCava said, putting his eyes down and giving a thumbs up in response to a shout from "Mr. Hall of Fame & # 39; on the second green after Woods touched on par.
When LaCava came down the 18th green, he was greeted by Jim Mackay, the caddy-turned broadcaster who gave him a comforting pat on the back.
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LaCava, 64, never enjoys paying attention, especially on a day when his boss struggled. With two rounds to play this weekend, Woods is 10 strokes behind the leader, Hideki Matsuyama, and needs a weekend allowance to earn a berth in next week's 30-man Tour Championship, which He won last year.
Woods and LaCava have worked together on a comeback that ended became one of the most exciting sports stories. So it was perhaps appropriate that LaCava was approached Wednesday after his introductory speech by a writer who said without introduction: “You are good at this. You should write a book. "
It was like encouraging Britney Spears to record an album. The man was James Patterson, the best-selling author, but after he walked away, LaCava admitted he had never heard of him.
"I am not the greatest reader," he said apologetically.
What LaCava does fairly well are readers. The credo of the caddies is showing up, shut up, shut up. But when he started working with Woods in the fall of 2011, he soon realized that one of the ways he could be of service was by talking more, because the public's hunger for understanding Woods is much greater then Woods desire to share.
"I talk to everyone because I think Tiger doesn't always talk to everyone," LaCava said. “I want Tiger to be the show. I want him to do the interviews and everything else. So that's just not a comfortable role for me. ”
Being the guest of honor at a meal where most other diners are strangers is the equivalent of the attention-grabber of playing the T.P.C. 17th island Sawgrass par-3 in a storm. Even as he walked out of the garden and studied the greens during Wednesday's pro-am round, LaCava was afraid of the speech he would have to give hours later.
"He does not like being part of the spot" Woods said, adding: "To make him recognize for what he does, he is very uncomfortable with that."
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"I should probably have told my wife," LaCava said.
If LaCava was afraid of embarrassing himself, he needn't worry. Patterson was right: LaCava is a fascinating storyteller, who prefers conciseness over bombast.
He remembered Woods' phone call asking if he was interested in working for him. LaCava, who was currently employed by Dustin Johnson, said he answered in the affirmative, departed by an expletive.
The crowd, including Woods, who slipped in before the ceremony and stayed until the end, exploded into laughter.
LaCava also told a story about his first week working with forests. After the third round of the 2011 Frys.com Open outside of San Jose, California, LaCava joined Woods on the sidelines of a football match in nearby Stanford, where Woods spent two years as a student athlete before joining turned professional. LaCava stood a few yards from Woods and caught the attention of a police officer who asked to see his credentials.
LaCava pointed to Woods and said he was with him. The officer sought confirmation from Woods, who shook his head noisily and said he had never seen LaCava before.
At that time, LaCava said he knew he could get along with Woods, because that's exactly the kind of thing I would have done.
LaCava, who helped Woods win 10 PGA Tour titles during their time together, shares more than a sense of humor with his boss. They have the same competitive drive. "He is very fiery," said Woods. "He wants to win."
In a recorded interview during the introduction ceremony, Woods spoke about the loyalty of LaCava. It was the highest praise he could give. While the sun revolves around everyone in golf, Woods always watches over the superficial, transactional relationship.
"The curse of Tiger is that he doesn't know who a friend is and who is a hang-on," said Robert Damron, a former tourist who commented on the Golf Channel on Woods' Friday round.
The loyalty of LaCava was tested over a four-year period, starting in 2014, when Woods & Balky Back restricted him so much that LaCava was 466 days out of work at one point.
Woods made only one start in 2016, at the tournament he is organizing in the Bahamas. He told LaCava that he was free to look for another job. LaCava essentially said thanks but no thanks. He believed that Woods still had good golf left to play and he was willing to wait.
His patience was pretty well rewarded at the Masters this spring. After Woods secured his 15th big win, his first big title in 11 years and his fifth green jacket, he embraced LaCava on the 18th green.
"We did it," Woods told him.
Later that night, LaCava said, he received a text from Woods, which ended up, "I love you like a brother."
LaCava cannot remember the rest, and he cannot look it up. "I removed it," he said.
He explained that he lost all his texts and e-mails.
But of course. Every caddy worthy of his bib will tell you that what is over is over. The only thing that matters is what is in front of you.