Editorial: Dismissal of caddy could be a blessing

Success in sport can be fickle and is usually fleeting. Always there are young pretenders to the throne of even the most seemingly omnipotent competitors.

And when the wins start to dry up, there is always the temptation to flail around. Shortcomings, some real, some imagined, are tilted at, and practices that have served a player well are abandoned in the search to rediscover a winning formula.

In that context, it is not surprising that Tiger Woods has chosen to end his 13-year association with Steve Williams, his New Zealand caddy.

Woods and Williams enjoyed many fine times, including 13 of the golfer's 14 major victories. But the past 18 months have been a struggle for Woods on and off the course. The scandal surrounding his marital infidelities, a new coach, a major swing change and serious injury have blunted his prowess.

Understandably, the New Zealander said he was shocked when Woods told him it was "time for a change". He should not have been. But he might have expected better, having stuck with Woods through thick and thin, largely without demur, and forged a strong personal bond.

But Williams must know also there is little room for sentiment in professional sport, especially when a career is waning.

Williams will now be caddy for Adam Scott. Such has been the slide of Woods that the Australian is three spots ahead of him in the world rankings, at 17th. Could it yet be that Williams, not Woods, will be the real beneficiary of the American's stumbling attempt to bring back the good times?