Patrick Cantlay. Andrew Wevers-USA TODAY Sports

Did Patrick Cantlay go behind Tiger Woods' back when offering caddie a job?

By Chelena Goldman | Last updated 5/3/23

Tiger Woods may be sidelined for the rest of the PGA Tour season, but he was still in the spotlight earlier this week when it was reported that his longtime caddie, Joe LaCava, would be on the bag for Patrick Cantlay " for the foreseeable future," according to ESPN.

Woods's agent, Mark Steinberg, told reporters LaCava called the 15-time major winner to get his blessing before taking the new job. But did Cantlay forego calling Woods himself before offering his caddie of 12 years a new gig?

Patrick Cantlay said he did *not* speak to Tiger Woods before reaching out to Joe LaCava about caddieing for him. pic.twitter.com/flubODGWES
— Dan Rapaport (@Daniel_Rapaport) May 3, 2023

Cantlay, currently ranked fourth in the official world golf ranking, reportedly didn't elaborate on his comments about not reaching out to Woods before offering LaCava the job. Given Woods's status in the golf world and the fact that LaCava stuck with him for over a decade -- even through life-threatening injuries -- it seems a little iffy that Cantlay wouldn't reach out to Woods first.

However, this news could actually be less scandalous than it sounds.

“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," fellow PGA golfer Justin Thomas said this week, via Golfweek. "That’s not the kind of guy Joe is, [the] kind of guy Tiger is and same with Patrick. There definitely was some kind of conversation that went on there."

Thomas -- who notably has a strong friendship with Woods -- also mentioned that LaCava had already been receiving job offers from other golfers and hadn't taken any out of loyalty to Woods.

“He’s as loyal as loyal gets,” Thomas said. “There [are] 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."

LaCava, 59, spent 20 years as Fred Couples' caddie and another four years on the bag for Dustin Johnson before teaming up with Woods in 2011. He was with Woods for 11 official wins, including his victory at the Master in 2019. LaCava also filled in as Cantlay's caddie at the 2021 Northern Trust when former caddie Matt Minister was sidelined with COVID-19.

Cantlay, 31, has six top-10 finishes on the season but is still in search of his first win. Since finishing T14 at the Masters last month, he finished third at the RBC Heritage and T4 at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans.

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