Tiger Woods' ex-caddie admits being a 'nervous wreck' watching his son's first PGA Tour win

Tiger Woods's ex-caddie Joe LaCava has opened up about his son's first PGA Tour win as a caddie. Joe LaCava Jr. caddied for Joe Highsmith, who won his maiden PGA Tour event at the 2025 Cognizant Classic on Sunday, March 2.

LaCava, who currently caddies for Patrick Cantlay, discussed his son's success during the first round of this week's Arnold Palmer Invitational:

"It was a thrill of a lifetime. I was home with my wife in Connecticut, and we were going nuts. She was leaping off the couch, and I was trying to keep it low-key, but inside I was churning. Honestly, I was a nervous wreck. Out here, I’m fine, but watching my kid do it was a whole different level of nerves."

Asked him if he had advised LaCava Jr. about anything, Woods's ex-caddie said:

"You know, obviously I gave him some caddie advice, but not a ton. Let him figure that out and learn his way once he gets out there. It was more fatherly advice. I told him two things - 'Listen, you got to work hard and you got to stay positive, especially if you're going to caddie, because there's a lot of down moments. So stay as upbeat and positive as you can and work your butt off.'"

Joe LaCava holds exceptional experience and caddied for the legendary golfer Woods, but the pair parted ways in 2023, following which he joined Cantlay.

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Tiger Woods's ex-caddie pairs in a group with his son at Arnold Palmer Invitational 2025

Following the win last week, Joe Highsmith joined the stellar field of this week's Arnold Palmer Invitational, which started with its opening round on Thursday, March 6. For the first two rounds of the tournament, Highsmith is paired up with Patrick Cantlay, meaning Joe LaCava and his son Joe LaCava Jr. are both in the same group for the first two rounds of this week's PGA Tour event.

The first round of the tournament concluded on Thursday, with Wyndham Clark taking the lead in the game at 5-under. Meanwhile, Keegan Bradley, Corey Conners, Christiaan Bezuidenhout, and Shane Lowry all tied for second place at 3-under.

Meanwhile, Cantlay played a round of 1-under 71 and tied for 11th place after the first 18 holes of the game, while Highsmith struggled on the greens and played the opening round at 3-over 75. He was tied for 33rd place.

The second round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational will start at 7:40 a.m. ET on Friday, March 7. Highsmith and Cantlay will tee off together for the second round on the first tee hole at 10:20 a.m. ET.