Tiger Woods might be in the twilight of his professional golf days but it seems he hasn’t forgotten the people who have helped him forge an iconic career. The 49-year-old now rarely competes outside of the big events, having won the last of his 15 major titles at the 2019 US Masters.
It was a triumph that few saw coming after the all-time great had spent years battling a debilitating back injury. Caddying for him that weekend was Joe LaCava, who carried Woods’ bag for 12 years after joining him in 2011. The pair split two years ago, with LaCava wanting more regular work, but have remained close.
That notion has been reinforced after LaCava’s son, Joe Jnr, celebrated his first PGA Tour success last Sunday. He was on the bag for Joe Highsmith, who captured his first title at the Congziant Classic in The Palm Beaches.
The 24-year-old shot a final round 64 to seal a superb two-shot victory, finishing 19-under par at PGA National in Florida. LaCava Snr has now revealed that Woods was one of the first people to get in touch to offer congratulations for his son’s big moment.
“Typical Tiger he gave me the three-word text and he was very, very excited for Joe Jr because he likes him a lot,” he told GolfMagic. “It was nice that he took the time to watch and see that he won.
“He said basically, ‘Can you believe that?’ There was probably a swear word in there, but he was very excited for him.”
LaCava is currently on duty at the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill, now caddying for Patrick Cantlay. He also explained how Woods wasn’t the only one excited, regaling how he watched the final stages with wife Megan.
“It was an incredible feeling for me,” he said. “To watch that Sunday unfold like that, I mean, there is nothing like it. It’s just an amazing, amazing feeling.”
“Megan was leaping up out of the couch every two minutes screaming and yelling, and saying this is nothing compared to if you weren’t at home. I was just in my mode trying to low-key it because I knew there was a lot of golf left.”
Woods reportedly gave LaCava his blessing to go and work with Cantlay, telling him to “have some fun and win tournaments.” However, his former employee has since worked with his son, Charlie Woods, in PNC Championship events.
