“You’d be crazy not to take the job” – Tiger Woods reacts as Patrick Cantlay hires his longtime caddie Joe LaCava

Ace caddie Joe LaCava has split with Tiger Woods after 12 long years of association. LaCava, who has been dubbed a family member by Woods, most recently carried the legendary golfer’s bag at the 2023 Augusta Masters. A month after the event, the caddie parted ways with the 15-time major winner to join Patrick Cantlay.

LaCava has been on the sidelines of several events due to Tiger Woods’ injury woes. The caddie was seen caddying for Steve Stricker at the PGA Tour’s Zurich Classic of New Orleans two weeks ago. He has now fully parted ways to join World No. 4 Cantlay. The ace caddie, who has been Woods’ trusted bagman since 2011, reportedly called his former boss for approval first. As per reports, Woods told LaCava that he’d be “crazy not to take the job” offered by Cantlay.

According to Dan Rapaport’s tweets, Tiger Woods told LaCava:

“You’d be crazy not to take the job. Go for it. Go win some tournaments and have a great time.”

Following the move, LaCava will be seen this week at the Wells Fargo Championship for Patrick Cantlay. It is pertinent to note that Cantlay had recently split with veteran caddie Matt Minister following the New Orleans outing. LaCava’s joining Cantlay on a full-time basis comes as Tiger Woods’ injury woes continue. The legendary golfer remains on the sidelines owing to his recent foot surgery.

The weekend won’t be the first time Cantlay and LaCava will work together. The duo has come together during the 2021 Northern Trust outing. Cantlay’s caddie Minister was out due to COVID-19 and LaCava had filled in. The 59-year-old caddie is one of the most experienced in the game, having worked with the likes of Ken Green, Fred Couples, and Dustin Johnson. It’ll be interesting to see how his partnership with Cantlay fairs.

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Justin Thomas on Joe LaCava's loyalty to Tiger Woods

It is pertinent to note that Joe LaCava has been receiving offers from other players ever since Tiger Woods stopped being a regular on the PGA Tour. However, the bagman remained loyal to the legendary golfer. His loyalty towards Woods met with heaps of praise from others in the golf world, including Justin Thomas.

Speaking about LaCava, Justin Thomas said:

"He’s as loyal as loyal gets. There’s so many guys out here that would have him caddie in an instant. When he was loyal to Tiger and Tiger’s probably telling him go caddie, go do whatever, and Joe, that’s just not the kind of guy Joe is. But at the same time, very similar to Bones, he’s competitive and he’s a caddie. I mean, they love to caddie and they love to win golf tournaments and they love being in that moment. I’m sure that weighed into his decision as well.”

Thomas added:

“I don’t know the details and don’t know how long it is or what’s going on, but I know that that’s something that would never ever, ever be done if Tiger would not OK that. That’s not the kind of guy Joe is, kind of guy Tiger is and same with Patrick. There definitely was some kind of conversation that went on there.”

It is pertinent to note that Cantlay has been in the news recently for his ‘slow play’. It’ll be interesting to see if LaCava manages to make any change to the same and rescue the golfer from the heavy criticism.