Steve Williams walks up a fairway to the chants of his name.
Ken Lowry waits in a parking lot, hoping just to land a job.
Such is the juxtaposition of the golf caddie that can be found this week at the PGA Championship.
When Williams arrives at the Atlanta Athletic Club for the final major championship of the year, it may not come with the same fanfare he received Sunday, where he strolled up the 18th fairway at the WGC Bridgestone Invitational to chants of “Stev-ie! Stev-ie!” Williams wasn’t about to putt out for a $1.4 million winner’s check. That distinction belonged to his new employer, Adam Scott. But it’s a rare sound to hear a crowd cheering caddie and not player.
Even before his unceremonious breakup with his old boss, Tiger Woods, Williams was the most recognizable caddie in golf. You get a lot of air time during a 12-year stint toting the bag of the world’s most famous golfer. Williams found you get a lot more when Scott wins in impressive fashion with Woods in the field for the first time since the big change.
“I’ve never had a bigger win,” said Williams, who had a hand in 72 wins, including 13 major championships, with Woods. Reporters flocked to Williams after the victory and his words were in newspapers and sports highlight shows around the world.
A world away, figuratively, stood Lowry. outside the clubhouse of AAC on Monday, he waited with hopes of finding a player who had entered in the 93rd PGA Championship without a caddie.
“Slim, maybe 15 or 20 percent,” the 35-year-old Lowry said of his chances of getting work. “Sometimes you can find an alternate who gets in at the last minute. Sometimes you see someone you know or someone carrying his own bag.”
Lowry, who has been a caddie for eight years, is a regular on the Nationwide Tour. He skipped this week’s event for the long-odds chance here. At last week’s mini-tour event, the Cox Classic in Omaha, he worked for Vance Veazey. He missed the cut, but Lowry said he still made about $800.
The big money – and job security – can come on the PGA Tour. Lowry said he used to work for Blaine McAllister, who played on the Champions Tour. Hehas never worked a PGA Tour event.
Williams probably earned $140,000 plus a commission on Scott’s bag last week. Woods, who tied for 37th, won $58,500.
With a master’s degree in business administration, Lowry still continues his search. Wearing a white Ping golf shirt and white Titleist hat, he was told by the director of caddies he was first on the list for those looking for help. A gig might not come until Wednesday, when the field is set with alternates.
“You have to have gypsy blood,” Lowry said. “I’ve been all over the country and the world. ... It ain’t for most people. It’s a life of airplanes, hotels and rental cars.”
Lowry draws hope from John Daly, who won the 1991 PGA Championship when he got in as the ninth alternate. He needed a caddie at the last minute, taking on Jeff "Squeaky" Medlin who was only available after his regular employer Nick Price withdrew.
The importance of a caddie can be debated and their roles vary from pro to pro. To some they are psychologist, to some cheerleader, to others a partner in each shot.
“He’s just the kind of guy who knows me, he can read me very well,” pro Justin Rose said of his relationship with his caddie, Mark Fulcher. “That’s where the true value is in a caddie, being able to change your mindset rather than pulling the right club.
"The right club is important on a back nine on a Sunday. That’s where they can really earn their money. But you’ve got to get that point and getting to that point is where the caddie really sometimes picks you up or calms you down.”
Staff writer Doug Roberson contributed to this article.
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