The announcement of Tiger Woods returning to competitive action is the news that the golf world wanted to hear, with the 15-time Major winner set to tee it up at the Hero World Challenge at the tail-end of November.
Understandably, following the news on Saturday evening, many were delighted to hear that the World Golf Hall of Famer will be teeing it up in a competitive environment. However, attention also turned to who will be on the bag for the 47-year-old...
There are a few candidates who might available to caddie in the Bahamas and, in this piece, we have taken a look at a few possible options for Woods.
Charlie Woods
Okay, Tiger's son, Charlie, may not be the most obvious choice but, recently, Tiger was seen caddying all four days for his son at a junior tournament so it's only fair Charlie returns the favour... right?
When the news broke of Tiger's return, many instantly conjured up the thought of Charlie caddying for his dad, which would be a great sight to see in competitive action.
It wouldn't be the first time that we see a father-son partnership in the golf sphere either. During 2020 - 22, good friend of Tiger, Stewart Cink, had his son Reagan on the bag, with the duo drumming up a lot of success, such as victories at the Safeway Open and RBC Heritage.
However, before we get carried away, it's worth noting that Charlie is only 14-years-old and, no matter how young or athletic you are, lugging a 20+ lb Tour bag around a golf course for eight miles is going to take a toll. Therefore, it is unlikely that we will see him on the bag for his old man... yet.
Joe LaCava
Although Joe LaCava isn't officially working with Woods, the American is currently on the bag for Patrick Cantlay, the bookies' favourite will likely be LaCava. The duo have known each other for many, many years and LaCava was on the bag for Woods' historic victory at the 2019 Masters.
If we were to look further into the matter, LaCava's boss, Cantlay, isn't present at the Hero World Challenge, as the eight-time PGA Tour winner has withdrawn from the event. What's more, there have been reports that the veteran caddie informed Golf Channel that Woods has been grinding hard in Florida ahead of his return.
Such is the close bond between Woods and LaCava, the caddie asked for his approval before signing on the line with Cantlay. He has also worked with Fred Couples, Dustin Johnson and even Nelly Korda
Joe LaCava JR
So, what happens if LaCava is busy that weekend? Well, perhaps Woods could opt for Joe's son, La Cava Jr who, like his dad, is a professional caddie and has already racked up some notable success.
Following in his dad's footsteps, Joseph LaCava won his first tournament as a caddie alongside Steve Stricker at the Regions Tradition tournament on the PGA Tour Champions back in May 2023. At the time, the American described it as a "special week", before adding "I know my dad's had many so maybe one day I'll catch him."
Along with the victory, LaCava Jr has been on the bag for Charlie Woods at the past few editions of the PNC Championship and, with their families being close friends, he will likely know Tiger's game very well if he were to be called upon.
Other Options
In all honesty, aside from the above, we can't really see any other caddies donning the Woods bib when he returns to the course. It's not that Woods will be short of options, with even professional players making offers to caddie for the 15-time Major winner!
One of those was Pablo Larrazabal, who even took to X/Twitter to put in his application, with the nine-time DP World Tour winner tweeting: "Hello @TigerWoods, I am actually available tomorrow to caddie for you at the #HeroWorldChallenge if you need an experience caddie. I am sure you have many offers so why not you consider mine. I[t] should be fun. Let’s win again."
