Why Adam Scott Needs to Drop Steve Williams Like a Bad Habit

Adam Scott needs to fire Steve Williams and he needs to do so immediately.

Now, I’m not going to get into issues of race or address what may or may not constitute a racially inappropriate comment.

I write about golf, and speaking purely in terms of golf, Williams needs to go.

Golf is a sport where the mental game is as, if not more important than the physical.

If you were to stand on a PGA Tour driving range for three hours, you'd see little difference between the number one ranked player in the world and the 142nd ranked player in the world. 

Truly elite golfers need to have an inexorable level of confidence and an unshakable ability to focus on the task at hand.

They also need to have balance off the course, because during the 10 minutes that can often lapse between shots, all sorts of thoughts can cloud a golfer’s mind, just ask Tiger Woods.

Williams has clearly become a distraction for Scott.

Scott won the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational and had to spend the next week answering questions about Williams’ comments following his victory rather than preparing for the year’s final major (the PGA Championship). 

After two rounds at the WGC-HSBC Champions Scott was only one stroke off the lead and in excellent position to become the first player since Tiger Woods to claim two consecutive WGC titles.

Then, Williams struck once again when he made headlines around the world by saying “My aim was to shove it right up that black (expletive),” referring to Woods  upon receiving a tongue-in-cheek award for the “Best Celebration” at the annual caddies’ dinner in Shanghai.

Instead of focusing on winning the golf tournament, Scott had to spend Saturday cleaning up Williams mess, and it seemed to take a toll on his game.

The typically precise Scott began missing fairways, including a near shank on the par three fourth that led to a bogey, and a pull hook off the tee on the par five eighth that eventually led to a double bogey after Scott unsuccessfully tried to hit his ball out of a hazard.

Had it not been for a miraculous hole-out for eagle on the par five 18th, Scott would have posted at least a 70 on Saturday.

And as things really began heating up around Williams’ comments on Sunday, Scott posted a round of 73, which was the second highest  score amongst the top-20 players on the leaderboard at the start of the day.

Whether Scott believes Williams is a racist or not is completely irrelevant.

Whether Scott believes William’s comments were taken out of context or not is also irrelevant.

The key word here is distraction.

Scott can occasional come across as slightly arrogant and unaccommodating with the media, but in my opinion, that is not at all the case.  Scott is simply a shy guy who would rather avoid the glare of the spotlight.

You want to make Adam Scott feel uncomfortable?

Just stand him in front of 150 prying reporters and force him to address race issues while flashbulbs are firing like it’s D-Day in the media center.

Aside from having to defend Williams to the media, there is also a level of discomfort that comes with knowing other players, caddies, fans, etc. now view you as the guy who employs a racist caddie. 

It’s a discomfort similar to that of bringing a girlfriend out to dinner with friends who you know hate her.

You may not agree with their view of your girlfriend, but the fact that they all see her in a certain way, and you know that they see her in that way makes for an altogether uncomfortable situation.

Distraction and discomfort are, aside from yips and shanks, probably the last two words any professional golfer ever wants to hear.

But that is exactly what Williams has brought upon Scott, and if Scott knew what was best for him he’d immediately drop Williams like a bad habit...and then just chuckle as Williams eventually wins with another golfer and starts ranting about how the victory was “the best win of his career.” 

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