When you think of trash talking you most likely think of a big-mouth wide receiver arguing with a tight end, a World Series champion calling his division rivals “Choke artist”, a hockey player talking about sloppy seconds, and thousands of other sports related beef scenarios before you get to a caddy v. golfer war of words.
The caddy is Tiger Woods’ bag handler, Steve Williams, and he started things off by calling Phil Mickelson a prick. To prove that he’s not a prick, Mickelson had his people put together a statement in response to Williams.
From the L.A. Times:
Sunday, Mickelson’s representatives sent a brusquely worded statement to media outlets that included this comment from Mickelson, “After seeing Steve Williams’ comments all I could think of was how lucky I am to have a class act like Bones on my bag and representing me.” Bones is the nickname for Mickelson’s caddie, Jim MacKay
Mickelson went on to add that the “Nice tits” joke is a tour retread:
Mickelson also said a “joke” told by Williams in which the player was heckled by a fan over his weight during this year’s US Open at Torrey Pines was “a total fabrication”. “It is based on an incident on the 17th hole during a practice round of the US Open at Bethpage in 2002 that involved a European Tour player. The story has been retold often but Woods and Williams were not present at that incident,” he said.
Tiger Woods hasn’t commented, and he pink slipped Fluff for getting full of himself, but since he thinks Phil Mickelson is a prick he’ll let Stevie slide. I can’t wait to see Mickelson walk 18 with Woods and Williams whenever Tiger returns to the course next year.
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December 15th, 2008 at 7:52 am
What ever happened to the courtesy and proper manners that use to be part of the sport of golf? It seems like the sport by way of this vulgar language etc. has made this sport comparable to professional wrestling or even dog-fighting.
The only solution is to cut-off the rotten part to make the whole pure again.
December 15th, 2008 at 11:56 am
Everyone knows Lefty has _itch _its. I am not taking anything away from his talent, But Bearing Point pays him enough money to pay for a reduction surgury. I guess Amy likes them. Oh well, at least we have some good golf talk during the silly season. Cant wait for 09 to see how this plays out.
December 15th, 2008 at 12:01 pm
integrity is part of that game. do you really want what is the most important part of the game caddie/player relationships to cause harm? those relations are sacred and extremely important. let the trash talking be in the f’n clubhouse between the two or more for that matter….the way i see it all…. caddie is only as good as his last win with a “”master of the game..” put up shut off and carrie the bag.. that’s all.. the PGA is not the NFL. Trash is not spoken by a caddie just carried. Know your place.
December 15th, 2008 at 12:13 pm
Unnecessary, crude, inappropriate remarks..was Williams sober when he uttered them? Tigher may feel embarrassed by this display of low class behavior..
December 15th, 2008 at 12:14 pm
sorry..that’s Tiger
December 15th, 2008 at 12:21 pm
u really think thats tiger? u in his camp?
December 15th, 2008 at 12:26 pm
The nice tits story is absolutely true. Many people were talk about Phil and his A-cups……..the tent next to the 16th hole was a USGA tent that serve alcohol and it got pretty rowdy as teh day wore on. I am sure next year at Bethpage the tent will be moved..
December 15th, 2008 at 12:33 pm
honestly do you think a tent made a difference? it’s just a matter of fact corporate tents are placed and will have ill effects.. players have to react and deal accordingly. look at 16 at the Phoenix.
December 15th, 2008 at 3:21 pm
Interesting. I was playing golf at Doral a year or two back and the starter told me a story about how he was on the receiving end of a tongue-lashing by Mickelson. The starter…a $35,000 a year guy that’s simply trying to make a living.
The truth is a great defense and Stevie’s comments confirm my impression of Phil Mickelson.
December 16th, 2008 at 12:34 am
can someone please explain to me why everybody loves and sticks up for phil. he has a sorry exuse of a personality and he is so fake it brings me on the verge of puking every time he comes onto the tv. willliams may have been a few deep when he made those comments but they represent how he feels. and dont try to tell me that there arent a lot of guys on tour who share his oppinions. stop trying to make it seem like they like eachother. they dont. their just like arnie and jack and it wont change.
December 16th, 2008 at 9:39 am
Sounds like time for Steve Williams to get his big mouth back on the end of Tiger Woods’ c__k. At least with his mouth full, we all won’t have to listen to Williams spout such drivel.
December 16th, 2008 at 1:45 pm
The fact is, Mickleson is regarded on tour as a phoney.He has the fans thinking he’s another Arnold Palmer. His nickname on tour is Figjam. F—, im good, just ask me!
December 16th, 2008 at 9:43 pm
mike i like ur name and i love ur analogy. nice to kno there’s a few of us out there.
December 17th, 2008 at 3:24 pm
Of all the adjectives one can think of to describe how they felt after hearing that Steve Williams had trashed Phil Mickelson, surprise was NOT one of them for me. In fact, this is exactly how Williams has always shown his character to be – as an arrogant loud mouth who demonstrates a superiority complex because he caddies for the best player in the world. Let’s make sure we clarify that – he, himself, is not the best player in the world but works as an employee of the best player in the world. This, of course, gives him valid ground to take cheap shots at one of the best, most respected players of all time.
Again, I am not surprised. Let’s look at Williams’ history. A few years back, he refused to follow the dress code for caddies at the Battle of Big Horn (or some made-for –TV golf event) and demanded to wear shorts – while all the other caddies followed the directive and wore long pants. This conflict was resolved by Tiger Woods backing his caddy and stating he wouldn’t play if Williams couldn’t wear shorts (of course, the PGA backed down instead of telling them both to take a hike). Williams is always the one castigating the gallery for making ANY noise while his boss prepares to play a shot – never as a request, but always in a “put up your dukes” manner.
The latest trend with Williams – and one I can’t explain why the PGA Tour allows to continue – is his habit of removing his caddy bib BEFORE the last putts are dropped on 18 by Woods and his group. The sponsors paid huge money to see their company name on those bibs, especially when Woods is playing because they should get the most bang for their buck. But not so with Stevie carrying the bag. He stands there in his Valvoline shirt and not in support of the sponsor of the tournament – the one usually handing his boss – AND HIM – their paychecks. More than once during a playoff involving Woods, Slugger White has had to ask Williams to place his bib back on – and he has been caught on camera arguing NOT to do it. Why is this tolerated by the PGA – and incidentally, by Woods himself ?
The quote from the Woods camp is that this latest “matter has been discussed and dealt with”. I am sure that there will be no public apology to Mickelson and his family for disparaging his name. What we are left with is a caddy who demonstrated again that he has no honor and is willing to back stab another player whom the rest of the sport admires and respects.
When you caddy for the number one player in the world, I guess it gives you the right to be a First Rate jerk.
December 17th, 2008 at 7:33 pm
Phil is a class act. Steve Williams is a drunken caddie. I’ve heard nothing but positive comments from other players about Phil Mickelson. He showed that in his response to Williams drunken slurs, praising his caddie “Bones”. Sounds like Stevie needs to apply for something in the sport of pro wrestling. Grow some balls Tiger, do the right thing and fire this idiot. The sport doesn’t need this kind of publicity and neither do you.
December 17th, 2008 at 10:48 pm
Phil Mickelson’s 34 PGA wins to date ranks him tied for 13th in Career Victories on tour. His 3 majors ranks him tied for 26th in Career Majors. Currently at age 38, Phil likely has around 7 to 10 reasonably productive years ahead of him to add to his totals. This will likely have him ending his career in the top 10 of all time in career victories and in the top 20 in majors (way ahead in both categories of many acknowledged “great” players). Tiger is clearly the best of all time, but Steve Williams is foolish for not acknowledging that Phil is in fact a great golfer. The rest of his low class comments speaks for itself about his own status.
December 18th, 2008 at 3:38 pm
FIRE THIS IDIOT TIGER
December 20th, 2008 at 10:10 pm
Phil is a prick. Im sure tiger feels the same way and probably talks to steve about it.Someone had to say it since tiger cant..steve did it for him.Phil will never be on tigers level even though i feel phil has more talent than tiger …he just doesnt have the killer instinct that tiger has to win.
December 21st, 2008 at 2:43 pm
A few of my Canadian buddies were at a golf course where Mickelson was playing…some were pro hockey players, lawyers and so on. A certain pro golfer was requested to approach Phil to have them have a photo taken with him. the pro golfer (who shall be nameless, but he’s on the tour) approached Phil and was told that a group of fans from Canada would appreciate having their photo taken with him. His reply…”I don’t think so. No wwonder his peers call him FIGJAM.
Jim Kozlich
December 28th, 2008 at 10:59 pm
steve williams is a f*@&ing idiot! he is a caddie!! i beleive it was a wrestler that coined the phrase “know your role and shut your mouth!” whatever his, tigers’, or the rest of the players on tour’s opinions of phil mickelson is, it’s completely irrelevent! he should keep his mouth shut and carry the bag he’s paid to carry!
to put this in perspective for us canadians, imagine a stickboy from an nhl team trashing sidney crosby in the media! do us all a favor steve and keep your ignorant overpaid mouth shut!!
p.s. i may not have made myself clear…..steve williams in an idiot!!
February 25th, 2009 at 12:39 pm
shamrock tom’s commen’t echo mine exacly.
while on a long flight,i observed phil mickleson being questioned by a man across the aisle from him about golf,what were the best coureses to play and so on through out the trip.mr.mickleson answered all the questions politely although i could tell he was exhausted.i have been a devoted fan from that day to this.
stevi’s job is to work for tiger wood’s.i am surprised he still has the job!
April 12th, 2009 at 5:38 am
stevie needs to remember he is the hired help.
April 12th, 2009 at 6:38 am
yes, exactly. professional golf is just like dog fighting. you must be one of those genius types.
April 12th, 2009 at 6:51 am
Both Sports Illustrated and GQ have done lists on the most hated athletes in sports by their peers. Phil Mickelson made both lists. I only have a link to the GQ one because the Sports Illustrated list was conducted quite a few years ago.
http://men.style.com/gq/features/full?id=content_4103&pageNum=2
April 20th, 2009 at 8:00 am
Mickelson haters wake up. Phil is known to be the biggest tipper in the locker room in PGA history. Some lucky locker room attendants have walked away with thousands after one of many Mickelson victories. I am also a big fan of Tiger, but let’s see how he does with the balancing act of trying to be an active father of two, a good husband and maintaining the number one spot on the PGA tour…. Oh yeah, Phil has been doing it over 7+ years. If Steve were really that good as a caddie he would have anticipated Tiger’s family fatigue and shoved a chainsaw in his bag for the Masters.
April 30th, 2009 at 3:15 pm
What a lot of totally precious nonesense. Golf, a game I love by the way, is obviously not exempt from the politically correct world of the “good old boys”. So what if Steve. W called Phil a prick. Get over it ..he is! A damn fine golfer sure, but none the less a walking example of privelged U.S snobbery, complete with the fake smile and over rated sense of his own brilliance. It’s great to see a bit colour thrown into the world of golf, it needs it! Here is a small group ppl who get payed obscene and I mean obscene amounts of money to smack a little ball about a wooded field for goodness sake. It’s about time they earnt it by becoming real and raw, you know like the rest of us hazard hackers. Being seen as human with all its frailties is wonderful. Lets here it for telling it how it is Steve. These over payed superstars are very human and no amount of money or rescuing by an old antiquated and bigoted american golf system will ever change the fact that their colourless lives need to have a few pricks thrown at them. Just so we know they are actually ppl and not a bunch of overpayed automatons.
May 12th, 2009 at 11:30 am
This is why many of us like Phil over Tiger. Phil is a great guy. Tiger’s caddie is just a horrible person, yet Tiger continues to use him. Would Phil have such a horrible person on his bag? Nope, he’s got bones and they are a class act!