It’s unclear when Tiger Woods will return to golf, but when he does, he will apparently be in need of a new caddie.
Woods’ longtime caddie Joe LaCava is working with Patrick Cantlay for the “foreseeable future,” according to Todd Lewis of Golf Channel.
The reporter snapped a photo of Cantlay and LaCava together, saying that the caddie “got the blessing from friend and former boss Tiger Woods to make the move to Cantlay. This is not a one off but a full time move for LaCava.”
LaCava had been Fred Couples’ caddie for 20 years before joining Woods in 2011 after Woods split with his previous caddie, Steve Williams.
The most notable moment in Woods’ and LaCava’s partnership was when Woods surprisingly won the 2019 Masters.
Woods suffered debilitating leg and foot injuries in a single-car accident in 2021, and there was fear his leg would need to be amputated.
Woods has played in four majors and the 2023 Genesis Invitational since the accident, but recently announced that he was undergoing another surgery.
Woods’ agent, Mark Steinberg, told the AP there was no timetable for his client’s return.
Cantlay, 31, has eight PGA Tour wins; his best finish in a major was third in the 2019 PGA Championship.
Cantlay was recently embroiled in a mini controversy after Brooks Koepka accused him of playing too slowly at The Masters.
“I mean, we finished the first hole and the group in front of us was on the second tee when we walked up to the second tee,” Cantlay told reporters ahead of the RBC Heritage in April.
“When you play a golf course like Augusta National where all the hole locations are on lots of slope and the greens are really fast, it’s going to take longer and longer to hole out.
“I think that may have been what attributed to some of the slow play on Sunday, and then also when the wind is gusting and the wind is blowing maybe inconsistently, that’s when guys will take a long time, too. I think it’s just the nature of playing professional golf, where every shot matters so much.”
