Vice Presidents of the game come under the cloud
The year 2012, on one hand has lots in store for golf fans all over the world, also brings with itself a pile of controversies that are specifically related to the vice presidents, or the caddies, of the game.
Apart from their hiring and firing, which is more or less a routine job, some events are worth mentioning that have sent waves of shock in the caddie, and hence the entire golf community, all over the world.
The year 2011 would be graded as memorable in this particular category, where numerous such contentious issues began to take place. Many of them have even begun to spark within the very first month of 2012.
Topping the list of caddie controversy is Steve Williams. In his 13-year career of serving as a caddie for Tiger Woods, he has finally earned the credit and status of being a controversial figure in the game.
How did he earn that? By his inappropriate selection of words when addressing the media on two separate occasions. The result in either situation was the same.
He received what caddies actually run away from – incessant flashes of camera and making headlines in newspapers and websites. For Williams it was not the first time.
His earlier split with Tiger Woods came after he disclosed his boss’ extramarital affair. This turned out to be corrosive for both of them.
Not only did Williams disclose a private fact about the life of a public celebrity, but it was an act that introduced rifts between the caddie and golfer.
Even though the relationship might have come to an end, but as wikileaks about the life of Woods continue to disclose, people have started to believe that Williams knew much more than he actually brought on surface, maybe by a slip of tongue.
Next in line of controversies is Paul Tesori. The guy has definitely a sad story to narrate, filled with the spice of melodrama. At one point in time, he was with the world No.1, Vijay Singh, when he decided to quit.
After quitting, he decided to serve for an amateur Sean O’Hair. While adding a couple of wins to his portfolio, he suffered from the humiliation of retrenchment in the time of seasonal slump.
In such circumstances Tesori had no other option than to present himself for gambling, yet again. He showed readiness by accepting the offer of carrying the bag of Webb Simpson.
The new entrant has the potential, but might take tremendous hard work and even after all that effort invested, there remains no guarantee on making adequate ROIs.
The caddie-golfer affair, gossips and sparks were not just an integral part in 2011, but the very beginning of 2012 has provided a view of the deepening gulf between these kingpins.
A recent affair was witnessed in the form of Rory Sabbatini, who once again made headlines by earning a bizarre penalty simply for being late for his first tee.
Fortunately for him, his caddie, Mick Dorgan, turned out to be proficient in covering up the situation by taking the entire blame.
He claimed that the late arrival of his master was because of the timing that he had set on his watch.
It is one of the rare incidents we find, in which a caddie was actually able to act as a good public relation specialist on behalf of his boss.
It would be exciting to see how many more caddies can actually earn this degree in 2012.
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