In June 2000, Tiger Woods didn’t just win the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach; he dominated it. He opened the tournament with a scorching -6 in Round 1 and never looked back, finishing at an astonishing -12. It remains one of the most iconic performances in golf history. For two reasons. First, Woods won it by a whopping 15 strokes. Second is what transpired in the final round.

The drama behind Tiger Woods’s historic 2000 U.S. Open win at Pebble Beach quietly began the night before the final round. So, what happened was that the second round of the tournament was postponed until Saturday because of fog. Woods had played 12 holes on Friday, and he had to play the remaining 6 holes on Saturday in the early morning. Now, Woods didn’t keep his stuff in the locker room. He used to keep them with him in his car, but during the 2000 US Open, he was staying in the lodge on the course, so he did not have his car.

At the end of the second day, Williams brought the golfer’s bag to his room. There, Woods rolled putts on the hotel room carpet and unknowingly left three Nike balls behind. In their rush to make an early tee time on Saturday, Woods and his then-caddie, Steve Williams, skipped their usual bag check—a critical oversight.

“Got onto the tee there, you know, put my hand in the bag to get a ball out for the first hole in that. There are only three balls there. I thought that’s a bit strange… we always start with nine,” Steve revealed recently to Colt Knost and Drew Stoltz on the Golf Subpar Podcast. One ball got scuffed when Woods birdied the 13th, and in a generous moment, he flipped it to a young fan. They cruised through holes 14 to 17, but disaster nearly struck on the 18th when the golfer hooked his drive into Stillwater Cove, leaving just one legal ball in play. That’s when Steve knew it was a gaffe!

“It’s the only time in my entire time of caddying that I was actually nervous,” he shared. He knew a nightmare scenario loomed: “If Tiger had to hit a second provisional and lost it, I wouldn’t be talking to you right now.” With switching to another brand against the rules and no time to retrieve backups, everything hinged on that one remaining ball. But, Woods being Woods, he hammered that last ball straight down the fairway, finished the round, and went on to win.

After the trophy ceremony, Williams casually brought up the scare. Walking down the scoring-trailer stairs with a grin, Steve said, “[After the win] he comes down the stairs and says, ‘So, Stevie, tell me about what happened there on Friday on the 18th,’ and he had a great laugh.” 

But that wasn’t the only bold move Steve Williams made during his time with Woods. In a recent podcast, he revealed that he often gave Tiger the wrong yardages on purpose, especially when Woods’s adrenaline was high. “If it was 160 and it’s a nine-iron… I’d be telling him it’s 170 or something,” he said, explaining that Woods’s shots would fly farther under pressure. He once gave incorrect yardages for every shot in a final round at Bay Hill, which Tiger won, by the way.

While Steve’s time with Tiger Woods was the most talked about, for all the right reasons, his career featured many other top names in golf.

Not Just Tiger Woods: Who Else Did Steve Williams Caddy For?

Steve Williams didn’t become one of golf’s most respected caddies by working with just one legend. While his years with Tiger Woods made headlines, his career started—and continued—with some of the biggest names in the sport. Before caddying for Woods, Steve had already worked with stars like Greg Norman and Raymond Floyd, both known for their dominance and sharp competitive edge. His straightforward style and strong instincts made him a trusted figure on the bag well before the spotlight of the Woods era.

After splitting with Tiger, Williams teamed up with Adam Scott and helped him make history at the 2013 Masters, where Scott became the first Australian to win at Augusta. His scoring average was 72.58, and he had gone under par in 30 of 88 rounds. The win proved that Steve’s skills went beyond just one partnership—he knew how to support different players with different temperaments.

In his later years, Williams also assisted players such as Danielle Kang and Jason Day, albeit for a shorter period. Even in a part-time role, his presence brought experience and calm to high-pressure moments. From Norman to Scott, Steve’s journey shows he wasn’t just Wood’s caddie; he was a game-changer in his own right.