Jump to content
Check out the Spin Axis Podcast! ×
IGNORED

Stevie Williams Interview about Tiger Woods


Note: This thread is 5171 days old. We appreciate that you found this thread instead of starting a new one, but if you plan to post here please make sure it's still relevant. If not, please start a new topic. Thank you!

Recommended Posts

  • Administrator
Posted

I normally don't like to post these PR emails, but here's this one.

You can click the links because I can't embed the videos. Share your thoughts on what Stevie has to say here.


Steve Williams: “ In Depth with Graham Bensinger”


Graham Bensinger travels to Auckland, New Zealand to sit down with Tiger Woods’ former caddy Steve Williams for his first extensive interview since being fired by Tiger. Fired by Tiger in July, Williams opens up about Tiger’s scandal, the fallout, the circumstances leading up to his firing, and his most memorable moments working with Tiger. Williams also speaks about his career as a caddy starting at a very young age, his love for auto racing and his significant charitable contributions. “ In Depth with Graham Bensinger” with Steve Williams premieres November 15 th on Yahoo! Sports, on regional sports television networks across the U.S. (check local listings) and on international television thru Setanta Sports.

Highlights From Episode :

· Steve Williams tells Bensinger that Tiger Woods will never break Jack Nicklaus’ all-time major record.

Bensinger: Jack Nicklaus won 18 majors in his career. He holds that record for most major victories. Tiger has won 14 majors. You told me you don't believe Tiger will catch or pass Nicklaus. Why do you think that is?

Williams: Well, if you look at it in the perspective that he has to have a career sort of equal to Phil Mickelson from here on in. Phil is a fantastic player and he has had four majors, the next best um number of major championships won besides Tiger in the time frame that Tiger has been playing on the tour, so he [Tiger] has to sort of replicate that kind of career um down the road here.
Link to watch: http://sports.yahoo.com/video/player/news/Graham_Bensinger_InDepth#news/Graham_Bensinger_InDepth/27250066

· Steve Williams reflects back on twelve years with Tiger Woods:

Bensinger : After all of this, how well do you believe you knew Tiger?

Williams: Well not very well obviously. I mean that sort of goes without saying. You know I mean I guess I thought I knew him well and didn't.

Williams went on to say their relationship changed very quickly once they resumed working together following Tiger’s scandal: “ ... there's no question that it was a difficult time and um you know our relationship obviously deteriorated very quickly .”
Link to watch: http://sports.yahoo.com/video/player/news/Graham_Bensinger_InDepth#news/Graham_Bensinger_InDepth/27249660

· Steve Williams says when the scandal came out, it was the most difficult time of his life: I just didn't like having my name associated with it. …that sort of activity is not something um that I have anything to do with .”

Williams told Bensinger he understands why people believe he knew all along about Tiger’s infidelities: “[If] somebody said to me, ‘you know, Steve, this particular player has done these activities um… Would the caddy know?’ Given the fact of the amount of time that I spent with Tiger and how close we were..... it would be very difficult not to know and I agree with that.”

Williams says had he known about Tiger’s infidelities…he would not have hesitated to tell Tiger what he thought: I don't agree with that sort of behavior. I mean I would have been strongly giving my piece of advice .”
Link to watch: http://sports.yahoo.com/video/player/news/Graham_Bensinger_InDepth#news/Graham_Bensinger_InDepth/27249659

· Steve Williams says he never asked Tiger anything about the 2009 car accident outside Tiger’s home early in the morning after Thanksgiving: I've never asked Tiger….. I don't need to know and don't want to know.
Link to watch: http://sports.yahoo.com/video/player/news/Graham_Bensinger_InDepth#news/Graham_Bensinger_InDepth/27250279

· Steve Williams and his wife are close to Tiger Woods’ ex-wife Elin Nordegren: “I don't change my opinion of her because she’s not with Tiger anymore. A great person and um they have two lovely children….. whilst the parents are not together, you know they are a great family and she is a lovely person.”

Link to watch: http://sports.yahoo.com/video/player/news/Graham_Bensinger_InDepth/27260895

· Steve Williams admits he had an inkling that things were not going well with Tiger before he was fired. “...we didn't click when we both got back together back in April at Augusta… you know we certainly didn't click like we used to so, you always know things are going to come to an end at some time …”

Bensinger asks Steve Williams why he and Tiger have a different take on what happened when Williams was fired.

Bensinger: You said he fired you on the phone, he said he fired you in person. Why would Tiger lie?

Williams: I have my take on how it unfolded and he has his take on how it unfolded and that's how I will leave it.

Bensinger presses Steve Williams about holding any grudges with Tiger after the firing. Williams replies, I just felt the timing was a little unusual .”
Link to watch: http://sports.yahoo.com/video/player/news/Graham_Bensinger_InDepth#news/Graham_Bensinger_InDepth/27249881

· Steve Williams talks about the satisfaction of winning the tournament while caddying for Adam Scott at Firestone and acknowledges the comments he made after the win suggested he still had animosity towards Tiger.  Williams also speaks about Tiger Woods congratulating him after the win: He sent me a text after Adam won…I really respected that…you know things move on and um you know we'll see what happens in the future .”
Link to watch: http://sports.yahoo.com/video/player/news/Graham_Bensinger_InDepth/27249881

· Steve Williams talks about how intimidating Tiger Woods was on the course when he was playing at his peak, but says things are not the same anymore: Right now Tiger doesn't have that intimidation factor so that, that's part of his artillery that's not there anymore.”
Link to watch: http://sports.yahoo.com/video/player/news/Graham_Bensinger_InDepth#news/Graham_Bensinger_InDepth/27250179

· Steve Williams talks about what it was like to work with Tiger Woods and says his determination is top notch: “… You know the desire and the will to win. I have never come across anybody that just hates to lose. I mean running second is just ain’t an option. He just didn't like that .”
Link to watch: http://sports.yahoo.com/video/player/news/Graham_Bensinger_InDepth/27260892

Steve Williams episode promo: http://sports.yahoo.com/video/player/news/Graham_Bensinger_InDepth/27231668

Generic series promo: http://sports.yahoo.com/video/player/news/Graham_Bensinger_InDepth#news/Graham_Bensinger_InDepth/25257956

Series’ website: http://www.GrahamBensinger.com/

Broadcast schedule: http://grahambensinger.com/index_watch.html

Erik J. Barzeski —  I knock a ball. It goes in a gopher hole. 🏌🏼‍♂️
Director of Instruction Golf Evolution • Owner, The Sand Trap .com • AuthorLowest Score Wins
Golf Digest "Best Young Teachers in America" 2016-17 & "Best in State" 2017-20 • WNY Section PGA Teacher of the Year 2019 :edel: :true_linkswear:

Check Out: New Topics | TST Blog | Golf Terms | Instructional Content | Analyzr | LSW | Instructional Droplets

Awards, Achievements, and Accolades

  • Administrator
Posted

FWIW, I watched the first segment, and I think that line of reasoning is stupid. Tiger needs to have a Phil Mickelson "career" from here on out? No he doesn't. Phil Mickelson's "career" included, what, 15 years of not getting it done in the majors? That's a stupid thing to say.

Yes, he needs "four more" which is how many Phil has, but to say that he needs "an entire career" is not the same at all. If Tiger gets to 17 are we going to say that he needs "Darren Clarke's entire career just to tie Jack?" No.

Erik J. Barzeski —  I knock a ball. It goes in a gopher hole. 🏌🏼‍♂️
Director of Instruction Golf Evolution • Owner, The Sand Trap .com • AuthorLowest Score Wins
Golf Digest "Best Young Teachers in America" 2016-17 & "Best in State" 2017-20 • WNY Section PGA Teacher of the Year 2019 :edel: :true_linkswear:

Check Out: New Topics | TST Blog | Golf Terms | Instructional Content | Analyzr | LSW | Instructional Droplets

Awards, Achievements, and Accolades

Posted


Originally Posted by iacas

FWIW, I watched the first segment, and I think that line of reasoning is stupid. Tiger needs to have a Phil Mickelson "career" from here on out? No he doesn't. Phil Mickelson's "career" included, what, 15 years of not getting it done in the majors? That's a stupid thing to say.

Yes, he needs "four more" which is how many Phil has, but to say that he needs "an entire career" is not the same at all. If Tiger gets to 17 are we going to say that he needs "Darren Clarke's entire career just to tie Jack?" No.



He isn't saying he needs a Phil Mickelson career he is saying he needs one sort of like his career, using an example to state it is possible. I think it is referring to the age Tiger is now and saying how even though he is into his 30's it is still possible because other guys have done it. Seems logical to me.

Driver: :tmade: R1 S 10 degree Wood: :ping: G20 3W Hybrid: :nike:Covert Pro 3H
Irons: :tmade: Rocketbladez Tour 4i-AW KBS S SW: :cleveland: CG15 54 degree
LW: :cleveland: CG15 58 degree Putter: :tmade: Corza Ghost Ball: :tmade: Penta


  • Administrator
Posted

Originally Posted by k14

He isn't saying he needs a Phil Mickelson career he is saying he needs one sort of like his career, using an example to state it is possible. I think it is referring to the age Tiger is now and saying how even though he is into his 30's it is still possible because other guys have done it. Seems logical to me.


Sure, except your answer to the "will he catch Jack" using that logic is yes, but Stevie very much seemed to be saying "no."

I think it's just silly to compare a guy with 14 to a guy who had 0 by about the same age. I agree it would more support a "yes" declaration than a "no" but Stevie basically said "no." The headline for that section was "Steve Williams tells Bensinger that Tiger Woods will never break Jack Nicklaus’ all-time major record" (emphasis added).

Erik J. Barzeski —  I knock a ball. It goes in a gopher hole. 🏌🏼‍♂️
Director of Instruction Golf Evolution • Owner, The Sand Trap .com • AuthorLowest Score Wins
Golf Digest "Best Young Teachers in America" 2016-17 & "Best in State" 2017-20 • WNY Section PGA Teacher of the Year 2019 :edel: :true_linkswear:

Check Out: New Topics | TST Blog | Golf Terms | Instructional Content | Analyzr | LSW | Instructional Droplets

Awards, Achievements, and Accolades

Posted


Originally Posted by iacas

Sure, except your answer to the "will he catch Jack" using that logic is yes, but Stevie very much seemed to be saying "no."

I think it's just silly to compare a guy with 14 to a guy who had 0 by about the same age. I agree it would more support a "yes" declaration than a "no" but Stevie basically said "no." The headline for that section was "Steve Williams tells Bensinger that Tiger Woods will never break Jack Nicklaus’ all-time major record" (emphasis added).


Oh sorry, I thought Steve was just saying it is plausible. Should read better next time

Driver: :tmade: R1 S 10 degree Wood: :ping: G20 3W Hybrid: :nike:Covert Pro 3H
Irons: :tmade: Rocketbladez Tour 4i-AW KBS S SW: :cleveland: CG15 54 degree
LW: :cleveland: CG15 58 degree Putter: :tmade: Corza Ghost Ball: :tmade: Penta


Posted

Stevie is like a jilted ex, he's hurt and upset thatTiger fired him.  He's at best going to be indifferent but more likely to take cheap shots when asked anything about Tiger.  It's fair for him to have an opinion on Tigers ability to beat Jack's record, but the explanation made no sense to me.  What does Phil's success have to do with Tiger, two totally different guys, and while I like Phil a lot, Phil at his best was never as good as Tiger at his best.

As for the rest of the interview it's interesting that he still contends to not know about Tigers extra-marital affairs but at least he acknowledges that it's pretty unbelievable that he didn't.

Joe Paradiso

Awards, Achievements, and Accolades

Posted

I could respect Stevie if he would have been nothing but grateful to Tiger for a real nice long successful run together. Regardless of how it ended, Tiger made Stevie a very rich and famous person. Far bigger stature than a caddie, honestly, deserves to be.

So what he has to say about Tiger, given his low-road, 'jilted lover' schtick he's been pulling, I could not care less about.


  • Moderator
Posted

I have to call bs on 2 things.

Williams not knowing about the years of Tiger having affairs

And not asking Tiger about the car accident on Thanksgiving.  Not even a "Dude, what happened?"

He's either lying or Tiger and Williams really had a distant relationship.  I know Tiger is a very private guy but you would think they would be much closer given how much time they spend together and all the victories they had.

Mike McLoughlin

Check out my friends on Evolvr!
Follow The Sand Trap on Twitter!  and on Facebook
Golf Terminology -  Analyzr  -  My FacebookTwitter and Instagram 

Awards, Achievements, and Accolades

Posted

We are talking about a caddie.  What other caddie has been interviewed and analyzed as much as Stevie.  My belief is he's a good guy down deep.  He's not perfect and was never trained to be the talking head.  New Zealand has a very high opinion of Stevie and has utilized him to do some commentary on the event at Cape Kidnappers and he does some promo stuff for the NZ tourist board.  He seems grounded.  Good stuff here.

I think what Stevie was saying about Phil was hey Tiger is starting from scratch moving forward. If he matches Phils performance at the age that Phil won his majors then Tiger stands a chance. But deep down he doesn't want Tiger to succeed.  He wants Adam to.


Posted

As he should, Adams success translates to dollars in Stevies pockets, nothing wrong with that.  He should recognize that he is now Scott's caddie and not a tour player or objective third party who should be participating in interviews focused completely about other tour players.

Originally Posted by FLOG4

I think what Stevie was saying about Phil was hey Tiger is starting from scratch moving forward. If he matches Phils performance at the age that Phil won his majors then Tiger stands a chance. But deep down he doesn't want Tiger to succeed.  He wants Adam to.



Joe Paradiso

Awards, Achievements, and Accolades

Posted

I agree with the above poster...he had to have an inkling that Tiger was doing stuff behind the scenes. I mean according to various sources, Tiger wasn't necessarily "private" about his affairs...often being within eyesight of many people as he went about hanging with various women. And given many on the Tour were aware of his behavior (and mind you, MANY tour players live similar lives behind the scenes...Tiger is just more high profile) its impossible Steve new "nothing".

The car accident will forever go down as a mystery. Truth is, Elin was probably angry and vengeful for learning about Tiger's affairs and acted as many women do when in that situation. Did she cause him physical harm? who knows. Did she probably beat the sh*t out of his car...yea.

one thing I think is complete BS is he has no problem tarnishing Tiger in the media, but will not elaborate about how he was fired..and how these 2 have complete DIFFERENT stories. there is a huge difference between a phone call and a sit down face to face lol.

Unless Tiger made a reference to a separation via a phone call, and it was interpreted as an official "your fired".


Posted

Two guys go to movies and later they chat about a scene.  The two have a totally different perspective of what that scene was.  I also  find that people say things at times without realizing they have.  Some times the mouth engages with our thoughts without cognitive acknowledgement of that circumstance.  For individuals to interpret what others meant or didn't mean. It's just a load of stuff............. Many years ago I had the pleasure of marshalling a PGA Tournament in Hartford. After the rounds the marshalls would have a little tailgating......There were two PGA players that showed up every year. I witnessed it 3 times. Let's just say they had a ship in every port. And in Hartford it was the same ship 3 times.  There's a code amongst professional athletes.  So some dufice reporter asks about things like this.....As Sergeant Shultz use to say" I know nothing, I see Nothing" Both Stevie and Tiger possess an edge to their persona.  Together that edge worked.  Apart it can and has created fireworks, But it is who they are. Tiger has taken high road, Stevie is I believe trying to figure out how to get off the track he's on and move to that high road.  This weekend should allowcate an opportunity for more fireworks or the chance for Stevie to find that highroad.


Note: This thread is 5171 days old. We appreciate that you found this thread instead of starting a new one, but if you plan to post here please make sure it's still relevant. If not, please start a new topic. Thank you!

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now


  • Want to join this community?

    We'd love to have you!

    Sign Up
  • TST Partners

    PlayBetter
    Golfer's Journal
    ShotScope
    The Stack System
    FitForGolf
    FlightScope Mevo
    Direct: Mevo, Mevo+, and Pro Package.

    Coupon Codes (save 10-20%): "IACAS" for Mevo/Stack/FitForGolf, "IACASPLUS" for Mevo+/Pro Package, and "THESANDTRAP" for ShotScope. 15% off TourStriker (no code).
  • Posts

    • Nah, man. People have been testing clubs like this for decades at this point. Even 35 years. @M2R, are you AskGolfNut? If you're not, you seem to have fully bought into the cult or something. So many links to so many videos… Here's an issue, too: - A drop of 0.06 is a drop with a 90 MPH 7I having a ball speed of 117 and dropping it to 111.6, which is going to be nearly 15 yards, which is far more than what a "3% distance loss" indicates (and is even more than a 4.6% distance loss). - You're okay using a percentage with small numbers and saying "they're close" and "1.3 to 1.24 is only 4.6%," but then you excuse the massive 53% difference that going from 3% to 4.6% represents. That's a hell of an error! - That guy in the Elite video is swinging his 7I at 70 MPH. C'mon. My 5' tall daughter swings hers faster than that.
    • Yea but that is sort of my quandary, I sometimes see posts where people causally say this club is more forgiving, a little more forgiving, less forgiving, ad nauseum. But what the heck are they really quantifying? The proclamation of something as fact is not authoritative, even less so as I don't know what the basis for that statement is. For my entire golfing experience, I thought of forgiveness as how much distance front to back is lost hitting the face in non-optimal locations. Anything right or left is on me and delivery issues. But I also have to clarify that my experience is only with irons, I never got to the point of having any confidence or consistency with anything longer. I feel that is rather the point, as much as possible, to quantify the losses by trying to eliminate all the variables except the one you want to investigate. Or, I feel like we agree. Compared to the variables introduced by a golfer's delivery and the variables introduced by lie conditions, the losses from missing the optimal strike location might be so small as to almost be noise over a larger area than a pea.  In which case it seems that your objection is that the 0-3% area is being depicted as too large. Which I will address below. For statements that is absurd and true 100% sweet spot is tiny for all clubs. You will need to provide some objective data to back that up and also define what true 100% sweet spot is. If you mean the area where there are 0 losses, then yes. While true, I do not feel like a not practical or useful definition for what I would like to know. For strikes on irons away from the optimal location "in measurable and quantifiable results how many yards, or feet, does that translate into?"   In my opinion it ok to be dubious but I feel like we need people attempting this sort of data driven investigation. Even if they are wrong in some things at least they are moving the discussion forward. And he has been changing the maps and the way data is interpreted along the way. So, he admits to some of the ideas he started with as being wrong. It is not like we all have not been in that situation 😄 And in any case to proceed forward I feel will require supporting or refuting data. To which as I stated above, I do not have any experience in drivers so I cannot comment on that. But I would like to comment on irons as far as these heat maps. In a video by Elite Performance Golf Studios - The TRUTH About Forgiveness! Game Improvement vs Blade vs Players Distance SLOW SWING SPEED! and going back to ~12:50 will show the reference data for the Pro 241. I can use that to check AskGolfNut's heat map for the Pro 241: a 16mm heel, 5mm low produced a loss of efficiency from 1.3 down to 1.24 or ~4.6%. Looking at AskGolfNut's heatmap it predicts a loss of 3%. Is that good or bad? I do not know but given the possible variations I am going to say it is ok. That location is very close to where the head map goes to 4%, these are very small numbers, and rounding could be playing some part. But for sure I am going to say it is not absurd. Looking at one data point is absurd, but I am not going to spend time on more because IME people who are interested will do their own research and those not interested cannot be persuaded by any amount of data. However, the overall conclusion that I got from that video was that between the three clubs there is a difference in distance forgiveness, but it is not very much. Without some robot testing or something similar the human element in the testing makes it difficult to say is it 1 yard, or 2, or 3?  
    • Wordle 1,668 3/6 🟨🟨🟩⬜⬜ ⬜🟨⬜⬜🟨 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
    • Wordle 1,668 3/6 🟨🟩🟨🟨⬜ 🟩🟩🟩🟩⬜ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 Should have got it in two, but I have music on my brain.
    • Wordle 1,668 2/6* 🟨🟨🟩⬛⬛ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

Welcome to TST! Signing up is free, and you'll see fewer ads and can talk with fellow golf enthusiasts! By using TST, you agree to our Terms of Use, our Privacy Policy, and our Guidelines.