Childhood friend Bryon Bell to caddie for Tiger Woods at WGC Bridgestone Invitational
Tiger Woods' childhood friend, soft-spoken Bryon Bell will be carrying the Woods' bags at the WGC Bridgestone Invitational this week but Woods shrugged off any ideas that Bell might be up for the job on a permanent basis.
The 14-major champion is returning to the course after a long break of 11 weeks, apparently recovering from a recurring injury in his left knee and an Achilles strain in both legs.
“No, no. Have you seen his legs?,” Woods said on Tuesday at Firestone when asked if Bell could be the full-time bagman. “Bryon and I are very comfortable out on the course. Bryon’s not a permanent caddie.”
Woods fired his 12-year long associate and caddie Steve Williams last month, adding another victim to his long list of terminations he has undertaken in the last two years. None of the two, Woods or Williams, came out openly criticizing the other for the
break up but many of the close friends of the duo consider Williams switching over to Adam Scott as a caddie, as the primary reason for the break up.
“We’ve had a great partnership for 12 years, maybe a little bit more than that, won a bunch of tournaments, but I just felt it was time to change things up a little bit,” Woods said on Tuesday.
But the vacancy has lured bulk of hopefuls from both the professional world as well as the fan club who are willing to carry bags for the champion. Woods admitted that he has been in contact with many of the caddies on the tour who are willing to offer their
services to him but he is still weighing his options before heading into the fourth and the last major of the year, the PGA Championship at Atlanta.
“Someone that obviously understands the game can handle the pressure coming down the stretch on the back nine. Someone who has been there before, who understands it, and can deal with it,” he said.
Woods played most of his glorious decade alongside Mike Cowan and Williams, where both caddies also worked with other players whenever they got a chance. Cowen caddied for Peter Jacobson while Williams carried the bags for Raymond Floyd and Greg Norman on
several occasions.
Among the many applicants for the post, John Q. Public has been the most vocal of them all and has expressed his desire to caddie for Woods openly on the media and although Woods has not set any time table to choose a caddie for himself in the near future,
with the PGA Championship just round the corner, he will be making the decision in a matter of days.
Williams was one of the latest victims who were sent packing by Woods. His former coach Hank Haney also parted ways with Woods after his career went into a downward spiral after his extra marital revelations came to the fore.
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