"He's great to have, not only on the bag with me, but he's also a great friend," Woods said.
"Our relationship goes beyond just the player-caddie relationship and we confide a lot in one another."
Being caddie to the very best throws a large spotlight on Williams. Having already done time on the bag with two of the greats, Ray Floyd and Greg Norman, the suffocating attention is not new for Williams, and his straightforward attitude obviously suits Woods' personality.
When it was pointed out that they seem to enjoy each other's company on the course, with plenty of smiles and jokes, Woods was asked what sort of jokes the pair shared on the fairways.
Woods smiled slowly. They were not, he suggested, jokes which would pass a PG13 certificate.
Williams is "very excited" about having his employer playing on his home course and winning the Open in Williams' backyard is "our ultimate goal".
And Woods confirmed that he will spend Saturday night at Te Marua speedway in Upper Hutt, watching Williams indulge in his favourite other sporting pastime.
"I'm looking forward to it and hopefully he'll come out on top."
Woods drew laughter from the large gallery of journalists when he was asked if he knew who Jonah Lomu was.
Unlike tennis diva Anna Kournikova, who was asked the same question two weeks ago, he did. "I would not want to run into him in a back alley," he grinned.
As for his pro-am round this morning, Woods said the one thing he avoided when playing amateurs was asking what their day job was.
"That's the last thing they want to be talking about. I try and make it very enjoyable for them, have a laugh."
He is impressed that a 13-year-old, Rotorua's Jae An, has qualified for the Open. An is understood to be the youngest male ever to qualify for an Open championship and Woods recalled that he played his first professional tournament at 16, before turning pro four years later.
"In those four years I played with a lot of great players and it was a chance to get to know different things about the game.
"I was one of those kids who played on their nerves. I wanted to know why and how to play shots. I took the short cut and just asked."
Woods says that gamesmanship is not as evident on the professional circuit as it was.
"Players are so into their game ... It does happen, but not to the frequency it used to.
"It's neat at the Masters dinner with the old champions to hear their stories about what they pulled on each other."
Woods' day starts early today with the pro-am before he gets down to the serious part of his trip.
Meanwhile, one of Woods' playing partners tomorrow, defending champion David Smail, did not have a successful start to his week here.
Smail teamed up with other New Zealanders who have won the Open, Michael Campbell, Sir Bob Charles, Greg Turner and Matthew Lane, in a four-hole skins shootout.
After Campbell birdied the first hole, the second was halved in threes, Turner then birdied the third and fourth holes to win with three skins.
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Full coverage: NZ Golf Open 2002
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