Tiger Woods and his long-time caddie Joe LaCava have reportedly parted ways.
LaCava had been working with Woods since 2011, and was on the bag when he claimed the most recent recent of his 15 Major wins at the 2019 Masters.
However, according to the Golf Channel’s Todd Lewis, Woods’ most recent Augusta National appearance, which saw him withdraw during the third round, will be the last time LaCava caddies for him as he joins Patrick Cantlay having received the 47-year-old’s blessing to do so.
On the bag for @patrick_cantlay this week at the @WellsFargoGolf and for the foreseeable future is Joe Lacava who got the blessing from friend and former boss @TigerWoods to make the move to Cantlay. This is not a one off but a full time move for Lacava. pic.twitter.com/nAIMtmylpbMay 2, 2023
Woods is currently out of action following ankle surgery and, with no estimated return date given, LaCava has now teamed up with the World No.4, starting with this week’s Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow.
Despite experiencing a solid season on the PGA Tour, which has included top-five finishes in three designated events, Cantlay split with his long-time caddie Matt Minister after he and Xander Schauffele finished tied for fourth in last month’s Zurich Classic of New Orleans.
Cantlay and Minister had enjoyed success over a number of years, including victories in the 2019 Memorial Tournament, 2021 Tour Championship and, most recently, last August’s BMW Championship, but that wasn’t enough to keep the working relationship going.
Meanwhile, although Cantlay form has been excellent in recent months, he has made headlines for another reason – perceived slow play. After the Masters, joint runner-up at Augusta National, Brooks Koepka, declared Cantlay’s group in the final round as “brutally slow,” with most observers suggesting it was the American rather than his playing partner Viktor Hovland who was most at fault.
Cantlay has worked with LaCava in the past, albeit on a temporary basis, during the 2021 Northern Trust Open. LaCava has also caddied for Fred Couples, while he was on the bag for Steve Stricker at TPC Louisiana two weeks ago.
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