Revealed: How Tiger Woods selected his new caddie

Tiger Woods has a new man on the bag this week and explained how the partnership came about ahead of the opening round of the Genesis Invitational.

Johnny Percival

15 Feb 2024

Ahead of his PGA Tour comeback at the Genesis Invitational, Tiger Woods shared insights into the selection process for his new caddie, Lance Bennett.

Since parting ways with his longtime caddie, Joe LaCava, in May 2023, Woods had been without a permanent caddie.

Their split came amid uncertainties surrounding Woods' return to consistent PGA Tour golf following major ankle surgery.

The departure was mutual, with LaCava moving on to caddie for Patrick Cantlay after being given Woods' blessing.

For a period, the role of Woods' caddie remained vacant, with temporary fill-ins including his daughter Sam and business partner Rob McNamara during the PNC Championship and Hero World Challenge.

The Genesis will mark Bennett's first event as Woods' caddie, and the 15-time major champion was full of praise for him when speaking to the media on Wednesday.

He said:

"As far as Lance is concerned, I've had a great relationship with him over the years going back to when he caddied for Kuch [Matt Kuchar] and when we played at the Presidents Cup together back in, what, Muirfield Village.

"In all the years that we've been on Ryder Cups and Presidents Cups together and the times I've been able to play with him in the same groups.

"[He is] very down to earth, very loyal and how he conversated through the years, I've also taken notice of that.

"We've had the same type of feels in how we look at the golf course and how we read putts, they're very similar"

Bennett is a vastly experienced caddie, having worked for Matt Kuchar, Davis Riley, Sungjae Im and most recently Belgium's rising star Adrien Dumont de Chassart.

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.

With Woods' PGA Tour schedule looking to a little bit busier 2024, it remains unclear whether or not Bennett's position will be a permanent one or not.

Golfeek has confirmed it's likely Bennett will be on the bag for Woods at the Masters and Players Championship.

One thing's for sure, though: Bennett will be hoping to make history with Woods this week as he searches for his 83rd PGA Tour title, which would capture him the outright record for most wins, overtaking the 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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