LONDON • Steve Williams, the former caddie of Tiger Woods, has aimed another broadside at the American golfer with the claim that he was treated like a "slave" during the pair's time together.
His autobiography - Out Of The Rough - charts his career which focuses on his successful alliance with Woods. The duo were together for 13 years, during which time Woods won 14 Majors.
In part of the book, which was serialised in Williams' native New Zealand over the weekend and is to be released today, he addresses Woods' on- and off-course behaviour, including the sex scandal that engulfed the golfer in late 2009.
The caddie had been angered by a lack of contact from the golfer and his management team over the matter.
"I explained to him what had happened in New Zealand and how furious I was at being dragged through the wringer over a scandal I had nothing to do with. He needed to know how difficult that was for me and my family," recalls Williams, who earned an estimated US$9 million(S$12.6 million) from Woods from 1999 to 2011 .
"I told him it was something that could have been avoided and how bitterly disappointed I was at his people for their total lack of communication and unwillingness to put out a statement saying I had nothing to do with it.
"I was adamant that some of his behaviour on the course had to change... One thing that really pissed me off was how he would flippantly toss a club in the general direction of the bag, expecting me to go over and pick it up.
"I felt uneasy about bending down to pick up his discarded club, it was like I was his slave.
"The other thing that disgusted me was his habit of spitting at the hole if he missed a putt."
The pair had been close, to the point the golfer was the best man at his caddie's wedding in 2006.
Williams, who took time away from golf to write the book before returning to caddie for Australian Adam Scott, does not believe the televised apology Woods offered for his affairs was "warranted".
The 51-year-old adds: "It was heavily scripted with nothing natural about it."
THE GUARDIAN
