Tiger Woods' caddy will destroy all hecklers

We should all be so lucky to have friends like Steve Williams.

In the wake of Tiger Woods' Friday public mea culpa -- you might have heard a little something about it around these parts -- Williams, his caddy, stepped forward to defend his boss. Williams further noted that he's not going to be putting up with any of the garbage that we can all expect will be hurled Tiger's way. (And you thought "get in the hole" was as bad as a golf gallery could get.)

"There are always going to be people who are going to knock you," he told a newspaper in Australia. "Being the No. 1 player in the world and being as successful as Tiger has been, there have been people who have knocked him anyway. I am sure there might be a few more; it goes with the territory."

Of course, it isn't like this is a huge dramatic character change. Williams has a history of mouthing off and having a bit higher regard for himself and his own opinions than the average caddy. He's also gone at fans now and then for clicking cameras in Tiger's backswing; at the 2002 Skins game, he rolled a fan's camera into a lake, and during the 2004 U.S. Open, he kicked the camera of a professional photographer. So it's not surprising to see him play the good soldier now, especially considering Tiger has made him wealthier than many PGA pros. (Plus, Tiger is probably going to be cleaning house here in the next few months, and if you ain't with him, you're against him.)

You know what I see in Stevie Williams' words? I see a challenge, and others will as well. I predict it'll be exactly three holes into Tiger's first round that Williams goes wading into a crowd whipping around a nine-iron like the Grim Reaper's scythe.

Yep, the Tiger story's going to get worse -- or, depending on your tolerance for on-course insanity, more awesome -- before it gets better.

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