Saturday, November 05, 2011

CADDIE STEVE WILLIAMS CALLS TIGER WOODS A 'BLACK A--------"

FROM THE DAILY TELEGRAPH WEBSITE
By OLIVER BROWN, in Shanghai
Tiger Woods' former caddie Steve Williams has stunned the world of golf with an extraordinary racist insult against his former employer.
The controversial New Zealand caddie had been asked on stage, during a dinner at the HSBC Champions in Shanghai, to explain his notorious gloating celebration after Adam Scott’s win at Akron in August.
He replied, in reference to Woods: “My aim was to shove it right up that black a--------!”
The remark by Williams, pictured by courtesy of Getty Images (c),  left the audience of players, caddies and sponsors aghast. While the occasion had been intended as a light-hearted celebration of the ‘caddie of the year’ award, Williams’ comment was uniformly seen as beyond the pale and escalated his bitter sniping at Woods to a new level.
Scott, the Australian world No 8 whose bag Williams took over after being sacked by Woods in July, was listening in the ground-floor room at the Le Meridien Sheshan hotel, alongside other top-10 players including Rory McIlroy.
The incident took place when Williams, who received a tongue-in-cheek award from fellow caddies for ‘celebration of the year’, was invited to recall his infamous swipe against Woods in Ohio three months ago.
The 47 year-old had accompanied Scott to a victory in the Bridgestone Invitational in their first tournament together, saying afterwards: “I have been caddieing for more than 30 years now and that is the best win of my life. A lot has been said and it is great to back it up. I back myself as a frontrunner as a caddie and I have won again.”
He later clarified: “I had a lot of emotions going on all week.
“When we were coming down the stretch and all those people were calling out my name, I mean, I’ve never experienced anything like that. And when Adam won, all of a sudden that emotion poured out. But it’s time to move on. The Tiger thing is over.”
Not if this latest performance was any gauge. The racist “black” barb in Williams’ attack betrayed the depth of his antipathy towards Woods. He had been at the former world No 1’s side for 13 of 14 of his major championship victories, winning more than £3 million in the process, before the acrimonious split.
Williams stayed consistently tight-lipped during the sex scandal that engulfed Woods in 2009 and has since claimed he feels that loyalty has been betrayed.
He said in an interview with New Zealand television, following his July firing: “You could say I’ve wasted the last two years of my life. I’ve stuck with Tiger and been incredibly loyal. I’m not disappointed I’ve been fired – that’s part of the job – but the timing is extraordinary. I, along with a lot of people, lost a lot of respect for Tiger and I pointed out before his return at the Masters in 2010 that he had to earn back my respect. Through time I hope he can gain my respect back.”
That prospect looks impossible in the wake of Williams’ outburst in China last night. Woods has so far refused to be riled by the Kiwi’s provocation, even though his agent, Mark Steinberg, was understood to have had a frank exchange with Williams over the Bridgestone speech at the US PGA Championship.
Woods would say only: “Adam has been a friend of mine, and same with Stevie. I sent Stevie a nice text after completion of play, congratulating him on his win.”
Those words had seemed sufficient to mollify Williams, until the disaffected caddie laid bare the full extent of his anger at last night’s dinner. The racism was instantly jarring, given he had never previously been on record using any such intemperate language.
One British caddie, aware of the racism row affecting England captain John Terry, disclosed he spoke for many in being shocked by the inappropriateness of the comment.
But Williams has built a reputation for controversy through his bullying nature. He once threw a camera into a lake during a skins game, when a photographer took a picture in the middle of Woods’ swing on the last hole, and another time seized one from a spectator during the 2004 US Open at Shinnecock Hills.
He also generated a storm of negative publicity for Woods late in 2008 through derogatory remarks at a charity dinner, where he said of Phil Mickelson: “I can’t stand the -----.”
Many unanswered questions spread last night through the Le Meridien lobby. What had possessed Williams to make so offensive a remark about Woods, when holding a microphone in front of a gathering of more than 100 people? Will Scott, an image-conscious 31 year-old who saw the crass gaffe, choose to dispense with his services?
All that was clear was Williams’ quite vicious degree of venom towards the greatest golfer of the generation, whom he had served for more than a decade.

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