• PGA Tour

Woods comfortable with new caddie and ready to win

ESPN staff
August 2, 2011
Tiger Woods will have an old friend, Bryon Bell, on his bag this week © Getty Images
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Tiger Woods parted company with his caddie of 12 years, Steve Williams, because he believed it was 'time for a change'.

The 14-time major champion will return to competitive action for the first time since May at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational on Thursday, but he will do so without the man who carried his bag for 13 of his major triumphs - instead using a caddie and friend from his amateur days, Bryon Bell.

Woods paid tribute to the New Zealander but said he had no regrets about his decision - refusing to react to Williams' assertion that he had "wasted two years of his life" waiting for Woods to get back to his best.

"That's what he says and what he feels," Woods said. "I felt it was time for a change.

"I felt that Stevie and I have had an amazing run - Stevie's an amazing caddie. He's helped my career and I think I've helped his too. I just thought it was time to change things up a little bit.

"I feel comfortable with the move and I've got Bryon on the bag this week. Bryon and I go way back - we're very comfortable on the course together. I don't have a permanent caddie, but we'll see going forward."

Woods revealed he informed Williams of his decision face-to-face at the AT&T National.

"We had a nice conversation," he said. "We did it after he completed play at the AT&T National. It was a tough conversation, but we said what we needed to face-to-face and man-to-man."

While Bell, the chief of Woods' course design business, is set to continue on his bag for next week's USPGA Championship and as far as the 35-year-old goes in the FedEx Cup play-offs, Woods admitted he has already received a number of applications to be his new permanent caddie.

"Caddies out here [on tour] - a few have applied. People who are not caddies out here - a ton," Woods joked. "We've had a lot of ... interesting ones.

"[I'll be looking for] Someone that understands the game and can handle the pressure, of coming down the stretch on the back nine on Sunday. Someone who has been there before, can understand it and deal with that.

"That's something I've always had, with Stevie and Fluff [Cowan, his caddie at the 1997 Masters]. That's something that I will definitely be looking for."

Woods revealed that he was all set to return to action at last week's Greenbrier Classic, won by rookie Scott Stallings, before ultimately deciding to take an extra week off just to make sure he was fully healed.

He believes the time off has also helped him bed in some effective swing changes with coach Sean Foley.

"I have been hitting more solid than I have in the past," Woods said. "Some of the things I'm working with Sean are starting to make sense. I can see what he's trying to get me to do. I was hitting the ball great on the range at the Players before we had to reset everything, too.

"It was borderline whether I was going to play last week. I was close to being ready to go but I gave myself some more days to get my body attuned. I feel great now.

"I've had some good practice sessions of late and just need to tee it up and do it on Thursday."

When asked about his realistic chances this week at Firestone, a course he has won on seven times in his career, Woods was characteristically bullish.

"I'm here to try and win a golf tournament. I'm just focused on that," he said.

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
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