“When Scott needed a guide off his bogey path late at Royal Lytham, Williams offered little direction.”

John Feinstein headlines his article, “Where Was Williams As Scott Let The British Open Slip Away?” and then proceeds to suggest that Steve Williams wasn’t there for Adam when he was most needed.

Alas there are no relevant quotes from either Steve or Adam however it’s interesting to read that, “Some insist Scott had told Williams to back away and give him space a couple of holes earlier. Others say Williams gave up on his player, literally walking away from him in apparent disgust after his second shot on the 17th flew long and left.”

Stevie giving up just doesn’t sound right for a guy who, “…has historically comported himself as if he were good enough to play. He is one of the most respected caddies and least-liked people in golf for just that reason. When he worked for Tiger Woods, he was the perfect bad cop, snarling at anyone who dared to come into his man's air space. The partnership lasted 12 years and produced 13 majors, a great run by any standard.”
Finstein’s final comment on the matter, “And the caddie who loves taking bows after victories has to take some of the blame for this defeat.”

Share the blame? No way, unless of course Steve was silent on the 18th tee.
But that wasn’t the case.

At the Wednesday media conference Adam said, “Look, I mean, I could go over every shot and want to hit them all again.  The shot into 15, I could hit again, the shot into 16, the shot into 17, the tee shot on 18.  You could pick them all again.  But there’s no excuse for me not making a good swing into 17, and we decided to hit 3 wood off 18, but it’s so difficult to know whether it’s right or wrong because neither of us were confident that 2 iron was going to fly the right bunker, which was right of my target, but still, if it went in there neither of us were confident of that.

Note the, “we decided to hit 3-wood off 18.”

Here’s the link to John Feinstein

Quote of the Day
"I am such an idiot." - Phil Mickelson after losing the 2006 U.S. Open
Voted as best quote of the decade 2000-2010 at the Golf Channel

And the background, which makes Adam Scott’s alleged meltdown a mere slip up.
“Having won each of the last two major championships, and leading the Open by one with one hole to play, Mickelson needed only a par on the home hole to keep alive a possible "Mickel-Slam."

Deciding upon driver off the tee, Mickelson pushed his tee shot well left, his ball bounding off a corporate tent. Playing aggressively and forgoing a pitch out, Mickelson's second shot clipped a tree and barely advanced 25 yards. His third shot finished buried in a greenside bunker. It would take two more shots to get on the green, and one more putt to finish the biggest major debacle since Jean Van de Velde at the 1999 Open Championship.”

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