Cantlay is playing in the Travelers Championship for a ninth time, the most he’s played any event on the PGA Tour. Of course, it helps when you start playing in a PGA Tour event while you’re still a rising sophomore in college. It helps even more when you shoot the lowest score by an amateur in PGA Tour history.

That came during the second round in 2011 when Cantlay, then 19, fired a then course-record 60 (“Mr 58” Jim Furyk broke it in 2016) to take the 36-hole lead. He failed to break par over the weekend, but the top-25 finish signalled the arrival of a future PGA Tour star and the following year he made his pro debut at the Travelers. Crazy enough, it took 11 more years for Cantlay to match that score on the PGA Tour, which he did at last year’s Shriners Children’s Open.

“Yeah, I think golf is a funny game like that,” Cantlay said at his pre-tournament press conference on Tuesday. “I remember that day I just got in a rhythm and felt like every putt was going to go in and pretty much they all did.”

But back to why this year could be different as Cantlay, now 31, tries to win the Travelers, one of the PGA Tour’s designated events in 2023, for the first time. He’ll have a different, but familiar face reading those putts now. And one that’s especially familiar around these parts.

That would be Joe LaCava. The long-time caddie for Tiger Woods and Fred Couples among others began working with Cantlay full time last month with the 15-time major champ undergoing his latest surgery. Long before that, LaCava grew up in nearby Newtown, Connecticut.

But with Woods having never played in the annual tournament in the Constitution State, LaCava hasn’t worked it many years. Not that he isn’t still familiar with the course.

“It’s been a long time,” LaCava told CTInsider.com earlier this week. “I’ve been fortunate enough to play TPC enough times to know the course well. I think I did work there two times over 20 years.”

Since joining forces full time, Cantlay and LaCava have played four events together. The results (T-21, T-9, T-30 and T-14) have been solid, and Cantlay is loving his new looper.

“He’s been great,” the eight-time PGA Tour winner said. “He’s a pro. He’s done this for a number of years for some great players. It’s really nice to be out there with him. He’s funny, too, so it’s been a good hang.”

Not that Cantlay needs much help around here. In addition to that spectacular debut a dozen years ago, the 2021 FedEx Cup champ arrives with five consecutive top-15 finishes. And he’s also coming off another top 15 at last week’s US Open. So will the crowds be cheering louder for the World No. 4 or their local hero carrying his bag?

“I’m not sure,” Cantlay said with a laugh. “We’re a team, so I don’t mind either way.”

The post Why Patrick Cantlay could have more crowd support than ever this week (no matter how he plays) appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Joe LaCava must have been really anxious to get back out caddieing again. After starting last week working full-time for Patrick Cantlay on the PGA Tour, Tiger Woods’ former caddie is making a one-week cameo on another top-ranked player’s bag: Nelly Korda.

The LPGA Tour confirmed that LaCava, 59, will work this week for the No. 1 player in the Rolex Women’s World Rankings during the Cognizant Founders Cup at Upper Montclair Country Club in Clifton, New Jersey.

Ben Walton

The opportunity arose as Korda’s usual caddie, Jason McDede, had his first son on Saturday, April 29. It was the morning of the third round of the JM Eagle LA Championship, where Korda finished T-6.

Nelly Korda has Joe LaCava on the bag this week at the Founders Cup. I’m told this is a one week arrangement and that her regular caddie Jason McDede is expected to be back on the bag for Korda’s next event. pic.twitter.com/r9Ntkw1YQI

— Amy Rogers (@TheAmyRogers) May 10, 2023

“It was very unexpected, but they’re both doing really well, both healthy, and Jason is back home with the baby,” Korda said. “Yeah, I can’t wait to meet him

Korda had her sister Jessica’s caddie, Kyle Morrison, work for her during the remainder of the event and the International Crown. According to a report from Golf Channel, McDede will caddie for Korda again in her next event. Per the LPGA’s website, Korda’s next start will be the Mizuho Americas Open June 1-4 at Jersey City.

LaCava picked up Patrick Cantlay’s bag last week at the Wells Fargo Championship, where Cantlay said that the change would be full-time, apparently ending the 12-year relationship between LaCava and Woods. With the World No. 4 taking off this week’s AT&T Byron Nelson, the Founders is relatively close to Oak Hill Country Club in Rochester, New York, where Cantlay will be teeing it up in next week’s PGA Championship.

The post Tiger Woods’ former caddie Joe LaCava is already moonlighting on Patrick Cantlay, taking Nelly Korda’s bag on the LPGA Tour appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Joe LaCava had to be pleased with his first official round on the bag as Patrick Cantlay’s new full-time caddie. The tandem shot an opening 67 at the Wells Fargo Championship, and maybe even more importantly to the veteran looper, it sounds like he’s already getting through to his younger player. Well, in terms of sports teams, that is.

Following their first round at Quail Hollow, Cantlay was asked a slew of LaCava-related questions by reporters, including this final one: “Has he converted you into a Yankees or Giants or Rangers fan?” In case you’re not aware, Tiger Woods’ long-time caddie is a huge New York sports fan, often wearing shirts of his favourite teams under his caddie bibs.

So it was no surprise that Cantlay was asked a lot about LaCava, and about this topic specifically. And it was no surprise that this was the PGA Tour star’s answer:

“Not yet, not yet. He’s working on Yankees fan, though,” Cantlay said. “He’s working on me.”

Joe didn’t waste any time now, did he? You love to see it. Well, at least, I do as a fellow New York sports fan. And Joe’s method of starting with the Yanks makes sense give the fact that it’s baseball season. Joe is still licking his wounds from the Rangers losing a Game 7 to the New Jersey Devils on Monday, and there will be plenty of time for him to push the Giants before the NFL returns.

But LaCava has his work cut out for him. As a SoCal guy, we’re assuming Cantlay is a Dodgers fan and they’re in first place yet again. Meanwhile, the Yanks are in the basement in the AL East. In any event, it sounds like these two will be discussing this stuff a lot in the coming months.

“Yeah, mostly anything but golf in between shots and then click in 30 seconds before,” Cantlay said of what the two talk about out on the course.

Keep working, Joe. Keep working.

The post Earn your Pinstripes: Patrick Cantlay says Tiger Woods’ former caddie Joe LaCava is already trying to convert him to this sports team appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

The news of caddie Joe LaCava’s jump from Tiger Woods to Patrick Cantlay signalled to some fans that their fear was coming to fruition. Mainly, that Woods was retiring. After all, Woods’ latest injury likely sidelines him for the rest of the year, and the 15-time major winner was already playing a limited schedule. His list of ailments continues to grow, and most of those physical impediments cannot be reversed. He’s also 47 and though golfers are extending their careers longer than ever, professional golf, at its core, remains a young man’s game.

Then there was an old quote from LaCava that made the rounds Monday afternoon from an ESPN documentary about Woods’ 2019 Masters victory. “If I could live another 100 years, I’d wait another 100 years,” LaCava once told ESPN in that special. “I was never not going to work for Tiger as long as he was going to have me. I just wanted to work for him and no one else. And I think that helped a little bit, knowing that he had a friend that thought that much of him, as a person and with his game.”

That LaCava was now on another player’s bag could have been construed as a sign Woods may be done.

However, while Woods will never play a full schedule again, LaCava told PGATour.com that his new position doesn’t mean Woods has officially hung it up.

“Tiger’s not going to play much going forwards,” LaCava said. “Obviously he’s not retiring. But he’s going to play two to six tournaments a year. Tiger and I have talked about if something were to come up, feel free to do something. ‘I know how much you miss it, how much you love caddieing.’ And when this opportunity arose, I checked with Tiger. And he said: ‘You’re crazy not to take the job, go forward, go win some tournaments, go have a great time.’”

LaCava has caddied for almost 40 years, spending time with the likes of Fred Couples and Dustin Johnson. He had been with Woods since 2011 and won 12 times with him, highlighted by their Augusta National triumph in 2019. However, Woods has played just five official tournaments in the past two seasons, making the cut in four of them but finishing in just two. With those numbers not envisioned to change in the near future, LaCava took the chance to get more regular work.

Woods’ agent Mark Steinberg echoed similar sentiments to ESPN. “Joe called Tiger to ask him and get his approval,” Steinberg said. “Of course, Tiger gave it. Tiger and Joe are like brothers, tremendous friends. You shouldn’t read anything more into that other than Joe wants to caddie. He loves it. It’s his passion. He’s great at it and one of the best.”

So rest assured, Tiger fans. It may be some time before you see Tiger. But for now, he is planning on teeing it up again.

The post Why Tiger Woods fans shouldn’t be freaking out about his split with Joe LaCava appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

It was first reported on Tuesday at the Wells Fargo Championship that Tiger Woods’ long-time caddie, Joe LaCava, had made a permanent move to Patrick Cantlay’s bag. He replaced Matt Minister, known by the nickname “Rev”, who has worked with Cantlay since 2017. But if fans were hoping Cantlay’s Wednesday press conference in Charlotte would shed more light on the situation, they were disappointed.

Cantlay, striking a matter-of-fact tone, confirmed the basic facts of the switch — that he let Minister go after the Zurich Classic and is bringing LaCava in as a full-time replacement — but wouldn’t elaborate on the cause of his split with Minister or any dialogue with Tiger Woods.

In fact, Cantlay revealed only two new nuggets — that Fred Couples was the facilitator, to a degree, and that he didn’t communicate with Woods in any way during the process.

“I’ve been friends with Fred Couples a long time,” Cantlay said. “He’s been in Newport Beach for a number of years now, and we’ve played a lot of golf together. So I’ve heard a number of great things about Joe … when I reached out to Joe, he said it was possible and [it] ended up working out. I’m really happy about it. … I haven’t spoken to Tiger.”

LaCava, however, did speak with Woods, getting his approval. Woods’ agent Mark Steinberg told ESPN that “you shouldn’t read anything more in to that other than Joe wants to caddie. He loves it. It’s his passion”.

Cantlay called LaCava a “steady hand on the steering wheel”, and added: “I know he’s been in every moment a caddie could be in and he’s just a good guy.”

As for Minister, Cantlay’s words sounded slightly prepared, in the manner of a press release.

“We accomplished a lot together, and I’m really proud of all we accomplished,” he said. “He’s a great friend of mine, and we had a lot of good finishes together and a lot of wins. So I’m incredibly grateful to him. Just needed a change.”

Minister was on Cantlay’s bag for eight PGA Tour wins, including three playoff events, the latest of which came at the BMW Championship last August. Cantlay’s play in majors has been less impressive, with just three top-10s in 24 tries, which the 31-year-old tour pro chalked up on Wednesday to an anomaly. If that had anything to do with turning to LaCava, he gave no indication of that, and it’s doubtful he will at any point in the future.

The post Patrick Cantlay explains how Fred Couples helped connect him with new caddie Joe LaCava appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

With another surgery sidelining Tiger Woods for the foreseeable future, his long-time caddie Joe LaCava has made a move that will keep him employed for the foreseeable future.

At the Zurich Classic just two weeks ago, LaCava looped for Steve Stricker, a good buddy of Woods’ who LaCava jumped at the opportunity to caddie for. Apparently, though, LaCava was angling for something a little more permanent, and he’s found exactly that in one of the best and slowest players in the world, Patrick Cantlay.

On the bag for @patrick_cantlay this week at the @WellsFargoGolf and for the foreseeable future is Joe Lacava who got the blessing from friend and former boss @TigerWoods to make the move to Cantlay. This is not a one off but a full time move for Lacava. pic.twitter.com/nAIMtmylpb

— Todd Lewis (@ToddLewisGC) May 2, 2023

The news was first reported on Tuesday by Golf Channel’s Todd Lewis, who snapped a photo of LaCava at the range alongside Cantlay at the Wells Fargo Championship. LaCava has caddied for other players during his tenure on Woods’ bag before — including Cantlay, who used him at the 2021 Northern Trust — a necessity given how infrequently Woods plays even when healthy. But he’s always still gone back to Woods whenever the 15-time major champion tees it up.

That does not appear to be the case this time, with Lewis reporting this is a “permanent” move and not a one-off at Quail Hollow:

LaCava confirmed that he’ll be working full-time for Cantlay. “Tiger and I have talked about if something were to come up, feel free to do something. ‘I know how much you miss it, how much you love caddieing,’” LaCava told Sports Illustrated on Tuesday. “And when this opportunity arose, I checked with Tiger. And he said you’re crazy not to take the job, go forward, go win some tournaments, go have a great time.”

This news comes just 12 days after Woods announced that he underwent a subtalar fusion procedure to address post-traumatic arthritis from the injuries to his right foot suffered in a car accident two years ago. That all but ended his 2023 season before it even really got started (Woods competed in just two events, the Genesis Invitational and the Masters), with one doctor stating he could be anywhere from six months to a year away from actually teeing it up again.

“Joe called Tiger to ask him and get his approval,” Mark Steinberg, Woods’ agent, told ESPN. “Of course, Tiger gave it. Tiger and Joe are like brothers, tremendous friends. You shouldn’t read anything more in to that other than Joe wants to caddie. He loves it. It’s his passion. He’s great at it and one of the best.

“Tiger said repeatedly he’s going to play a very limited schedule around the majors, his events, the father-son, assuming that everything goes well in the rehab and recovery,” Steinberg said. “Joe wants to work, and so I think Tiger got that. We’re just moving on.”

LaCava, 59, first started caddieing for Woods in 2011 after stints with various tour pros, most notably Fred Couples and Dustin Johnson. With LaCava on the bag, Woods won 12 tournaments overall, including his 15th major championship, the 2019 Masters. LaCava also caddied for Woods when he won his last PGA Tour event, the 2019 Zozo Championship, which tied Tiger with Sam Snead for the most career PGA Tour titles at 82.

No doubt, getting on the bag of Cantlay, the No. 4-ranked player in the world, was an offer LaCava couldn’t pass up. Unfortunately, this does mean that Matt Minister, Cantlay’s long-time caddie, is now out of a job. (A source tells Golf Digest that Cantlay let Minister go after the Zurich Classic). Considering his résumé, which includes working with Nick Price, Jeff Sluman, Chris Kirk and Sangmoon Bae, he should be able to get on to another bag soon.

The post Speeding up: Joe LaCava, Tiger Woods’ longtime caddie, set to work full-time for Patrick Cantlay appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Tiger Woods’ first appearance in a regular PGA Tour event in nearly 850 days was eventful for a number of reasons. But one of the best things to come from the week at Riviera was a viral video that showed a 9-year-old heart transplant recipient, Madelyn Quinn, holding a poster behind the 17th hole, which grabbed the attention of Tiger’s caddie, Joe LaCava.

The poster, which you can see below, shows the No. 2 item on Madelyn’s bucket list was getting to meet Tiger. Even during competition, the laser-focused Tiger made his way over to Madelyn’s sign during his Saturday round and said hello to her, while checking off the box with a Sharpie himself. Just A-plus, heart-warming stuff.

Well, the story gets even better for Madelyn, as apparently the last item on her bucket list will now be checked off come April.

It sounds like CBS announcer and former tour pro Colt Knost, with his podcast co-host Drew Stoltz, connected an Augusta National member who heard about the story with Madelyn and her father, Greg, and invited the Quinns to the Masters this year, according to Barstool Sports’ Dan Rapaport.

“One of the members who heard the story insisted on getting a hold of me to offer tickets,” Greg told Barstool. “We are pumped!”

Add that check pic.twitter.com/mN9XrDu6XX

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) February 18, 2023

Just sensational stuff. Rapaport also outlines how going to Riviera on Saturday in the first place was a last-minute decision for the Quinn family once they realized Tiger would make the cut. This would lead to an interaction that made the rounds on social media—and has now led the Quinns to get one of the most coveted tickets in all of sports.

Kudos to LaCava and Tiger, to Knost and Stoltz and to the Augusta member for going out of their way to make this happen. These are the kinds of stories we all love.

The post This feel-good story with a 9-year-old girl’s poster and Tiger Woods gets even better appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Anyway, the man who is as smooth at spinning a yarn as he is at spinning a wedge was at it again ahead of this week’s Mitsubishi Electric Championship to kick off the 2023 PGA Tour Champions schedule. On what’s also the eve of the American Express on the PGA Tour, Couples recalled initially working with longtime caddie Joe LaCava ahead of the 1990 event, known back then as Bob Hope Classic.

As Couples tells it, the two hopped in his Cadillac Escalade (In case you don’t remember, Freddie was a big Caddie guy back then) from his Palm Springs home located eight miles from one of the tournament’s courses, Bermuda Dunes. Despite the proximity to the course, Couples got lost somehow, and he says LaCava, sitting in the passenger seat, was “livid”.

After finally finding the course, Couples says LaCava, “Grabbed the keys out, he drove home, and he drove every day for 22 years.” So from that moment forward, LaCava was both Couples’ caddie and chauffeur. Have a listen:

Joe LaCava drove @fredcouplesgolf to every event for 22 years. ?

All because of a mishap Fred made in the desert. pic.twitter.com/lwt1PXdld6

— PGA TOUR Champions (@ChampionsTour) January 17, 2023

To be fair to Freddie, this was in the pre-GPS days. Still, that should have been a nice little 10-minute drive tops, so that’s pretty bad.

UNLESS, Freddie did it on purpose so he wouldn’t have to drive anymore. In that case, he’s a genius.

The post WATCH: Fred Couples reveals the really good reason why caddie Joe LaCava was also his chauffeur for 22 years appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Ryan Herrington
As Tiger Woods made his early (and emotional) exit from St Andrews last week, missing the cut at the 150th Open, the presumption among most prognosticators was that it was the last time we’d see the 15-time major winner on a course in a while. It was a sombre thought. Maybe Tiger would compete in his own Hero World Challenge come December and/or play alongside son Charlie again at the PNC Championship, but beyond that, the schedule was empty and disappointing for his fans.

Enter Joe LaCava to offer at least a few rays of hope. Tiger’s caddie was on the ‘Dan Patrick Show’ on Thursday and hinted that his boss could play in a handful of meaningful events before another run at Augusta National in 2023.

“I’m still hoping he’ll play three, maybe four tournaments before the Masters,” LaCava said.

LaCava speculated that Woods could play in the 2023 Genesis Invitational at Riviera Country Club outside Los Angeles in February. It’s a PGA Tour event Tiger hosts and benefits his foundation. LaCava also mentioned the Players Championship in March as possible tune up before Augusta, acknowledging the need for Woods to get some competitive reps in as better preparation for his major appearances.

While waiting to hear from Woods on his progress and what’s happening, LaCava will offer to come to south Florida between now and the end of the year if Tiger feels like practising.

“I’ll do the same thing and say to Tiger, ‘If you’re starting to feel better maybe October, November, maybe I’ll come down for a couple of weeks, we’ll hang out,” LaCava said. “We don’t have to play every day. We don’t have to practise every day. I’ll just be there and give you a little motivation.”

Tiger Woods' caddie Joe LaCava discusses his role in Tiger's life post accident.

For Joe's full appearance: https://t.co/nEJv6Anb8j pic.twitter.com/TwapmrOdDS

— Dan Patrick Show (@dpshow) July 22, 2022

The disappointment of how things played out at St Andrews was shared by LaCava, who was hoping given the time Tiger was putting in during the week to prepare for the event that his game would come around on a course that Woods had won twice before.

“It’s one of those things where we just never got anything going the first day,” LaCava said. “It wasn’t like he played poorly … the putting just didn’t seem to be there, and the short game wasn’t quite there.

“I think he’s working so hard to get stronger and healthier. He’s working on his long game and working on his endurance, and I just think the short game has been neglected a little bit at this point and that showed over there.”

You may also like:
After Henrik’s departure, here are leading candidates for Team Europe Ryder Cup captaincy
Finau keeps cool to claim 3M Open
Henderson claims major prize at Evian
Darren delivers the Open double at Gleneagles
Richie Ramsay keeps promise to daughter
Dubai’s Chiara Noja to take a well-earned break
Henderson hanging on at Evian Championship
Top agents still calling me: LIV Golf’s Greg Norman
Brooke leads the way at Amundi Evian Championship
Rory returns to BMW PGA at Wentworth
LIV Golf Bedminster: Ready for Round 3
WATCH: Matsuyama dumps three in lake on way to quadruple-bogey
Charley Hull and Nelly Korda in the mix at Amundi Evian Championship
Local lad Waring leads at Hillside
LPGA commissioner willing to talk to LIV Golf
LOOK: Home with ridiculous replica of Sawgrass’ 17th hole on market
Qatar’s Education City is perfect for golf and footy fans at World Cup
R&A gets greener at The Open
Remembering the greatest finish in golf — 30 years on
McGinley refuses to slate Ryder Cup mates for joining LIV Golf
Kokrak and Howell III join Stenson at LIV Golf Invitational Bedminster
Henrik Stenson removed as Ryder Cup captain
LOOK: Golf bag chaos at Scottish airport after The Open
Casey confirmed as LIV Golf Bedimster field revealed
Bryson back to ’97-98 per cent fitness’
LOOK: Then and now — The Old Course at St Andrews
Parting thoughts from the 150th Open Championship

The post Optimistic caddie Joe LaCava hopes Tiger can play ‘three, maybe four’ events before the 2023 Masters appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

“He’s going to have to put up with the scrub caddie this week,” LaCava joked.

Tiger Woods’ caddie has picked up a substitute gig in Patrick Cantlay for this week’s Northern Trust, the first of three FedEx Cup playoff events. It’s a temporary gig for one week only as Cantlay’s full-time looper, Matt Minister, is out after testing positive for COVID-19.

Tiger’s caddie Joe LaCava is on the bag for Patrick Cantlay at the Northern Trust this week.

Just a fill-in gig as Cantlay’s full time looper, Matt Minister, is out with COVID-19. pic.twitter.com/4E8Xk53EaU

— Daniel Rapaport (@Daniel_Rapaport) August 17, 2021

LaCava resides in Connecticut, which made the drive down to northern New Jersey rather manageable. He’s staying close to the Meadowlands, home of his beloved New York Giants.

“It’s getting me pumped for the season, that’s for sure.”

Woods, of course, remains sidelined as he rehabs from traumatic leg injuries sustained during a Feb. 23 car accident near Los Angeles. There is no timetable for when Woods might be able to begin swinging a golf club again. LaCava did say he recently visited Woods in South Florida.

Woods and Cantlay have grown close, with both holding memberships at Medalist Golf Club in South Florida. Woods also captained Cantlay during the 2019 Presidents Cup.

It’s not the first time LaCava has picked up work since Woods has beeen out with injury. In June, he worked for his former boss, Fred Couples, at the Principal Charity Classic on the PGA Tour Champions. Couples finished tied for sixth.

Cantlay, the No. 9 in the World Ranking, enters this week in third place in the FedEx Cup points standings on the strength of two victories this season: the Zozo Championship last fall and the Memorial in June, when he beat Collin Morikawa in a playoff after 54-hole leader Jon Rahm was forced to withdraw due to testing positive for COVID-19.

There’s no word yet as to how much of the $15 million grand prize LaCava would get should Cantlay catch a heater this week and go on to win the FedEx Cup. They’ll cross that bridge if they come to it—and they’d love to come to it.

The post Tiger’s caddie Joe LaCava to loop for Patrick Cantlay at this week’s Northern Trust appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.