With Tiger Woods still without a timetable for a return to competitive golf, Woods’ caddie has switched bosses.
First reported by Golf Channel’s Todd Lewis, Joe LaCava will be on the bag for Patrick Cantlay “for the foreseeable future,” beginning with this week’s Wells Fargo Championship. It will be the first time LaCava has had a full-time job caddying for someone other than Woods since the two teamed up in September 2011.
Lewis added that Woods, who is recovering from yet another surgery (a subtalar fusion on his right leg after withdrawing from the Masters last month), gave LaCava his blessing in making the move to Cantlay.
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/nAIMtmylpb
— Todd Lewis (@ToddLewisGC) May 2, 2023
Woods has teed it up in just five PGA Tour events since the 2020 Masters.
All nine of Cantlay’s career PGA Tour wins came with previous caddie, Matt Minister, on the bag.
Speaking with Sports Illustrated, LaCava said the phone call with Woods was “very tough,” but he missed caddying and Woods isn’t retiring, “but he’s going to play two to six tournaments a year,” LaCava added.
“Tiger and I have talked about if something were to come up,” LaCava said. "[And Woods has said], ‘Feel free to do something. I know how much you miss it, how much you love caddying.’ And when this opportunity arose, I checked with Tiger. And he said, ‘You’re crazy not to take the job. Go forward, go win some tournaments, go have a great time.’”
“We’re still very tight,” LaCava added. “It wasn’t like it ended where he’s healthy and going to play a full schedule. It’s a different set of circumstances. It was still a tough call. But like Fred [Couples] 10 or 12 years ago, I’d like to think we’re still going to be good friends, text back and forth, whatever.”
