In this time of economic crisis, financial arrogance is often frowned upon. Nobody wants to hear the sob story of the hedge fund guru who can no longer afford daily massages and pampering. Or the Beverly Hills housewife who cuts back on her assets by making the heart-breaking decision to sell one of her four residences.
Up is down, left is right, and—in the immortal words of Jerry Seinfeld—hamburgers are eating people in the current economic climate.
But when the going gets tough, the bone-headed tend to speak up.
Before Tiger Woods signed his scorecard and stashed his clubs after suffering a knee-injury-heard-'round-the-world in his U.S. Open victory, you may have subconsciously noticed the middle-aged man entrusted with polishing Woods' clubs and providing the occasional "trouble's on the right" warning.
His name is Steve Williams and the New Zealander is the caddy assigned to the Best in the World. Williams began caddying at the age of six and was squeezing in 36 holes on the weekend by age 10.
Williams' father introduced him to Australian golfer Peter Thomson who entrusted the caddy with his bag in the 1976 New Zealand Open.
Upon making his way to the U.S., Williams served as right-hand-man to names such as Greg Norman and Raymond Floyd before filling the vacant caddy position at Team Woods in 1999.
Of course, the million-dollar question is, "How much does this guy make for schlepping around a bag of golf clubs?" And the answer may be, well, a million-dollar answer.
Researching Williams' salary earnings results in a barrage of misinformation and conflicting sources. But from what can be deciphered, Stevie—Woods' nickname for him, not mine—is pulling in roughly a million bones a year.
According to Bob Harig of the St. Petersburg Times, "Caddies are typically paid a weekly salary to cover expenses and then receive a percentage of earnings. The standard is five percent, with a bonus of 10 percent for a victory."
OK, so after a few Tiger victories and a speaking engagement or two, Williams is easily in the seven-figure range.
So the only lingering question remaining is: Why, in the name of all that is holy, did Williams feel the need to bash Woods-rival Phil Mickelson over the weekend?
During an event in New Zealand, Williams said, "I wouldn't call Mickelson a great player, 'cause I hate the [expletive]," according to The Guardian newspaper.
But the world-class caddy wasn't finished with his unprovoked assault on the fan-favorite Mickelson.
He told the New Zealand Star Times, "I don't particularly like the guy. He pays me no respect at all and hence I don't pay him any respect. It's no secret we don't get along either."
To put the finishing touches on the public lashing, Williams shared a story about a Mickelson heckler at the U.S. Open.
Allegedly, the anti-Phil spectator sarcastically complimented him on his, um, growing chest region, except not in those exact words. Mickelson vehemently denied the story and called it an "absolute fabrication."
Sorry, but are caddies allowed to have egos? Who's the real money-maker here, Woods or Williams?
Naturally, once the cheap-shot comments were filed under "controversial" by the media talking heads, Williams began to backpedal like a true instigator
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