‘Trait is so rare:’ Tiger Woods’ legendary caddy helped spark Australia’s PGA run

Tiger Woods’ legendary caddy, Steve Williams, won’t be on Anthony Quayle’s bag for long, but his impact was palpable during the BMW Australian PGA Championship.

31-year-old Quayle is a new member of the DP World Tour and will be with Williams for two weeks before heading to Europe. Williams, who caddied for Tiger Woods in 13 of his major victories and for Adam Scott in his 2013 Masters victory, had a big impact on Quayle during this week’s matches at Royal Queensland.

Quayle opened with a four-under 67 and backed it up with a 66. A Saturday 67 put him in a 54-hole tie for the lead alongside David Puig and Ricardo Gouveia.

As Quayle battled his way through Royal Queensland, Williams’ experience, conviction and temperament helped him get out of trouble and into contention. Williams’ impact was evident in the second round when he took Quayle off an approach shot to switch clubs. Quayle listened to the advice, stopped the shot and made birdie.

“It’s unbelievable; that trait is so rare,” Quayle said of Williams’ conviction, via Golf Digest Evin Priest from Australia. “I think he’s really putting his neck on the line. It’s cool for a player.” [to see that]. I had a feeling he wouldn’t do it unless he was 100 percent ready [sure]and I felt quite confident as soon as he did. His language and the way he conveys the message removes any doubt and I had the feeling that this new plan was the only plan and then it was simply executed.

Quayle said Williams won’t be a permanent fixture in his bag, but the 62-year-old will pop up from time to time.

How often Williams caddies for Quayle, who earned his DP World Tour card through the Australian Tour’s Order of Merit, remains to be seen. But he will relish the chance to soak up knowledge from Williams when he gets the chance.

“He’s probably the most positive and clear caddy I’ve ever worked with,” Quayle said of Williams after the first round. via news.com/au. “He probably has a reputation for being quite intense, but my experience today wasn’t that at all. It was just very direct (with) ‘this is what we have to do here, do you think you can do it? Yeah, let’s do it then’. There was no room for any kind of doubt at any point. It just didn’t seem to get into my head. Every time I made a little mistake, it wasn’t like he was jumping on me. It was like ‘yeah,’ that’s fine mate, everyone makes a bad swing sometimes, let’s we’ll make a good swing on the next one.’

“His professionalism and his attitude rub off on you when you’re around him,” Quayle says told the DP World Tour after the second round. “It’s been fantastic. I’m looking forward to the next few weeks and then I’ll get the opportunity at any other time.”

Quayle arrived at Royal Queensland on Sunday with a chance to win, but he made double bogey on the second and fifth holes and fell far behind Puig, who pulled away from the pack to claim the trophy. Quayle made a pair of birdies coming home, shooting a final-round two-over 73 to finish tied for 10th.

Although Anthony Quayle did not lift the trophy at Royal Queensland, he and Steve Williams will head to the star-studded Australian Open next week, where Rory McIlroy will be in attendance. They feel good about their partnership and their ability to win and earn a spot in the 2026 Masters.