Revealed: Tiger Woods' new caddie for PGA Tour return at Genesis Invitational
Tiger Woods will reportedly have a new caddie on his bag at this week's Genesis Invitational at Riviera.
Tiger Woods will reportedly have veteran caddie Lance Bennett on his bag when he makes his official PGA Tour return at the Genesis Invitational this week at famed Riviera, according to Golfweek.
Woods, 48, previously worked with Joe LaCava for many years prior to recovering from ankle surgery after The Masters last season, but LaCava has now opted for a permanent position on the bag of PGA Tour star Patrick Cantlay.
LaCava is of course the caddie that caused one of the biggest controversies in Ryder Cup history at Marco Simone in Rome last September. It all led to a bust-up in the car park involving Rory McIlroy!
According to Golfweek, Woods picked up Bennett who is best known for caddying for Matt Kuchar when he won the 2012 Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass.
Woods is the tournament host of this week's Genesis Invitational as his Tiger Woods Foundation supports the event.
In more recent years on the PGA Tour, Woods' new caddie Bennett has worked for both Sungjae Im and Davis Riley, and most recently Belgium's rising star Adrien Dumont de Chassart.
Bennett has also enjoyed stints on the LPGA Tour with Juli Inkster, Paula Creamer and Lorena Ochoa.
Golfweek has confirmed Bennett's switch to Woods' bag at this week's $20m Signature Event on the PGA Tour was made easier as a result of Dumont de Chassart being managed by the same agency as Woods.
A look at Tiger’s new bag man pic.twitter.com/wWUaPHwhWl
— TWLEGION (@TWlegion) February 12, 2024
At this stage it remains unknown whether Bennett will remain on Woods' bag for both The Players Championship and The Masters.
Woods may decide to bounce between different caddies throughout the 2024 PGA Tour season, we'll have to wait and see.
One caddie that could be in line for a call-up on Woods' bag this year is Rob McNamara, who caddied for the former World No.1 at the Hero World Challenge in December 2023.
That was Woods' last individial start in competition, but it was not an official PGA Tour event like this week.
McNamara is Woods' long-time business partner and the vice president of TGR.
How will Tiger Woods get on at the Genesis?
— GolfMagic (@GolfMagic) February 12, 2024
Woods also played alongside his son Charlie Woods in the annual PNC Championship just before Christmas.
Some Woods fans are hopeful he might let Charlie take over the bag at some stage during the season.
Other romantics are hoping Steve Williams makes a return to Woods' bag as the 15-time major champion.
Williams was on the bag for 13 of Woods' 15 major titles.
Michael Thomas "Fluff" Cowan was on the bag of Woods' first major title at the 1997 Masters.
LaCava was on the bag for his last major win at the 2019 Masters.
Woods needs to win just one more PGA Tour title to capture the outright record of 83 PGA Tour titles.
He currently shares the record on 82 with late great Sam Snead.
How will Tiger Woods get on at the Genesis Invitational this week? Share your thoughts and comments over on the GolfMagic social media channels.
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