There are caddies on the PGA Tour and then there is Steve Williams. In case you are really drunk, Williams is Tiger Woods' caddy and is basically as good as it comes with a bag toter.
Williams keeps his own notes on every shot during rounds and said that to him, Tiger hits about 65 percent of his fairways. Obviously that number, by rule, is incorrect. Tiger is ranked 157th on tour in driving accuracy, finding the fairway about 59 percent of the time. Williams says his numbers are skewed to make up for Tiger's distance off the tee.
"For example, most of the courses we play will have a couple of driveable par 4s for Tiger. He might hit it in the greenside bunker, but it's a great shot, or he might hit a great tee shot that doesn't end up on the fairway and people think it's a missed fairway."
Similarly, Woods might cut a sharp dog-leg with his driver on a par 5 or long par 4. It won't end up on the fairway, but might give him an easier shot to the green.
The PGA might record a missed fairway, "but in my book it's a hit," said Williams. "Just like if he misses a green by two inches, but he knows he hit a great shot, so we count it as a green hit. While the PGA stats are accurate, it's not necessarily what we look at."
That isn't even the craziest stat Williams has found. He said if Tiger avoids a single three-putt in 72 holes, the standard length of a PGA Tour tournament, Woods wins 90 percent of the time.
Whatever the truth about Woods' driving accuracy, Williams says the most interesting statistic relates to putting. When Woods doesn't three-putt over a 72-hole stretch, he will win the tournament 90 per cent of the time - and that's a goal they strive for.
I would have to say that is incredibly insane (though I'm sure it is correct). Tiger is so good it makes me sick. Steve, it appears, might be right there with him.
