Stepping On The Ball

Did Steve Williams step on Tiger’s ball at the PGA? He says he didn’t, and I’m inclined to believe him, since to my knowledge, there has never been any allegation of prior shenanigans.

But in any case, the Golf Channel is running a teaser that Williams is on his way out as Tiger’s bagman.

It turns out that Williams is just on a bit of a vacation. But there may be a grain of truth in The Golf Channel’s sensationalism. There has long been a feeling among golf observers that the surest way to get removed from Team Tiger is to cause a distraction. I’ve read more than once that players who are known to be Tiger’s friend will not comment on him for fear of being shut out of the inner circle.

With his camera grabbing escapades, his race car driving, and now the plugged ball, Steve Williams is certainly on his way to becoming a distraction. As USA Today put it, while Williams pleaded with the fans for support in the plugged ball issue, they “paid him back with interest” for his past antics:

Woods was already 2 over for the round, and Nike couldn’t help him. Stevie Williams, the caddie, couldn’t help him, either, even as Williams was asking the roped-off fans — pleading with them — to identify the cameraman, marshal, player or caddie who had stepped on poor Tiger’s ball.

These were the very fans who had their cell phones and Kodaks confiscated by Stevie Blunder in majors gone by. The fans were paying back Williams with interest. No, they didn’t see anyone step on Tiger’s ball

.

That certainly looks like Williams is becoming an issue to me. And iff Steve Williams becomes an issue, will he go the way of Butch Harmon and Mike Cowan?