Tag: Joe LaCava

What top PGA Tour pro will Tiger’s caddie, Joe LaCava, be working for at Northern Trust?

Joe LaCava accepted a one-week gig to work for Patrick Cantlay, No. 3 in the FedEx Cup point standings.

Tiger Woods’ caddie has gotten the call from the bullpen.

Joe LaCava is scheduled to be on the bag of Patrick Cantlay this week at Liberty National Gold Club for The Northern Trust in Jersey City, New Jersey, the first of three FedEx Cup playoff events.

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

Cantlay’s regular caddie, Matt Minister, who was on the bag for Cantlay’s latest victory at The Memorial in June, is sidelined after testing positive with COVID-19. Cantlay subbed with Joe Skovron, Rickie Fowler’s regular bagman, at the WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational.

Cantlay enters the week ranked third in the FedEx Cup points standings thanks to two victories, and that’s not all that is at stake for him during the playoff run.

Northern Trust: Tee times, TV info | Odds | Fantasy

He needs to make up some ground to earn an automatic pick for the U.S. Ryder Cup team or to assure Captain Steve Stricker that his game is in top form for a captain’s pick. Cantlay played under Tiger Woods at the 2019 Presidents Cup in Australia.

LaCava, who lives in the tri-state area in Connecticut and is a diehard New York Giants fan, has been in semi-retirement since Tiger Woods sustained injuries when he was involved in a single-car crash in February. Woods currently is recovering and hasn’t release a timetable for his return.

Previously, when Woods was out with a back injury, LaCava had inquiries to see if he was available for work, but politely declined to work for anyone else. That loyalty was rewarded in memorable victories with Woods at the 2018 Tour Championship, the 2019 Masters, his 15thmajor, and a win at the Zozo Championship in Japan that tied Sam Snead for the most wins on the PGA Tour with 82.

LaCava also looped for former boss Fred Couples at the Principal Charity Classic on the PGA Tour Champions earlier this year. Couples finished tied for sixth.

Cantlay is schedule to tee off on Thursday at 8:26 am ET on the 10th tee.

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Joe LaCava’s son to caddie for Tiger Woods’ son at PNC Championship

Joe LaCava’s son will caddie for Tiger Woods’ son this weekend at the PNC Championship.

If you follow golf, you know the name Joe LaCava.

He’s the caddie for Tiger Woods, and has been on the 15-time major champion’s bag for almost a decade. Apparently looping runs in the LaCava bloodline.

This week when Tiger and his 11-year-old son, Charlie, tee it up at the PNC Championship at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club Orlando, LaCava’s son, Joe Jr., will also there. On the bag for Charlie.

“There is one fun nugget that Tiger mentioned to me a number of months ago when he was kind of debating whether or not they would play in the PNC this year,” said VP of TGR Ventures Rob McNamara to Golf Digest. “He said, ‘Wouldn’t it be fun if I had Joe LaCava Jr. caddie for Charlie?’”

PNC Championship: Teams, tee times, format and TV info

The two-day event begins Saturday, Dec. 19, and ends the following day. The 20-team field features 67 major titles via 20 different major champions.

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Masters Memories: Tiger Woods’ caddie, Joe LaCava, on key moments that still stand out

Tiger Woods’ putt on 12 at Augusta National still stands out to his caddie, Joe LaCava, who will likely be watching Sunday’s CBS broadcast.

Editor’s note: CBS will replay the 2019 Masters from 12:30-6 p.m. Sunday.

Joe LaCava and Tiger Woods walked side by side en route to a fifth green jacket in the 2019 Masters.

Then the two sat side by side to watch a replay of the comeback for the ages at Woods’ palatial Florida estate.

“It was cool,” LaCava told Golfweek recently about watching the final round of his boss’ fifth Masters title, 15th major championship triumph and first since spinal fusion surgery in 2017 gave him back his way of life and resurrected his career. “We were bouncing through it, just to see some of the shots, reminiscing about certain swings, certain thoughts, some of the conversations we had, certain memories.”

Now LaCava, sheltered at his Connecticut home with his family as the COVID-19 global pandemic has postponed the 2020 Masters and crippled professional sports worldwide, might take a seat once again when CBS re-airs the electric final round of the 2019 Masters on Sunday. If he so chooses, he’ll watch the entire broadcast but certain moments will stand out.

What happened at the heart of Amen Corner, for instance. No, not the calamity that included Francesco Molinari, Tony Finau, Brooks Koepka and Ian Poulter all rinsing tee shots in Rae’s Creek within 30 minutes of each other. Instead, it was what his man in the red shirt did on the 12th with the shortest club in his bag.

“The first thing that comes to mind about the final round is the putt on 12, the 6- to 7-footer that breaks left to right. It’s one of those putts I’ve seen a million times, where if you’re just a little soft with it, it breaks really hard toward Rae’s Creek,” said LaCava, who also was on the bag when Fred Couples won the 1992 Masters and has been a part of 11 of Woods’ record-tying 82 PGA Tour titles. “And Tiger fired it in there like it was a 1-footer and that was huge. A great par putt. We gained two strokes on Tony and Francesco and Brooks and Poults, so that was big.”

Tiger Woods and caddie Joe LaCava on the 4th tee during the final round of The Masters golf tournament at Augusta National Golf Club in 2019. (Michael Madrid-USA TODAY Sports)

As was the go-ahead birdie on the par-5 15th and the tee shot on 16 that Woods nearly holed and led to a kick-in birdie.

Definitely the tee shot on the tight par-4 17th.

“Under the circumstances, that drive was as good as I’ve seen from him,” LaCava said. “It was just a hard cut that moved like three yards at the most. It was just a bullet, as good as he can hit it, and he’s in the middle of the fairway. Perfect drive. And to top it off, we had a perfect 9-iron number to the green, which was kind of nice.”

As was the aftermath, especially the time LaCava basked in the glowing light of victory while sitting on the back end of the courtesy SUV some 45 minutes after he and Woods shared an emotional hug on the 18th green.

“Sitting there, there was so much satisfaction,” he said. “I was so happy for both of us. And thinking about what he went through to get there, that we never lost faith in each other. And it’s the Masters. And it’s Tiger.

“I was on cloud nine sitting there and basically I still am a year later.”

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Report: Tiger Woods, caddie Joe LaCava sued over 2018 incident

Tiger Woods and his caddie Joe LaCava have been sued by a Florida man who alleges he suffered injuries during the 2018 Valspar Championship.

Tiger Woods and his caddie Joe LaCava have been sued by a Florida man who alleges that he suffered injuries during the 2018 Valspar Championship when LaCava pushed him out of the way.

According to the Associated Press, the civil complaint filed Tuesday in Pinellas County alleges that Brian Borruso tried to take a selfie, but was “intentionally shoved.”

The suit read:

As a result of the culpable negligence of Defendant, Joseph LaCava, Plaintiff, Brian Borruso, suffered injury and damages including, but not limited to, bodily and mental injury, and resulting pain and suffering, disability, disfigurement, mental anguish, loss of capacity for the enjoyment of life, expenses of hospitalization, medical and nursing care and treatment, loss of ability to earn income, and aggravation of previously existing condition. The losses are either permanent or continuing.

The incident took place just off the 13th green of the Copperhead Course at Innisbrook Resort and Golf Club in Palm Harbor, Florida.

According to the AP, the lawyer representing Borruso, said the suit was delayed to get a “better understanding of the injuries.”

Woods’ agent, Mark Steinberg, did not return a text from the AP.

A pair of videos will likely be part of the suit, as in one LaCava walks toward a group of fans with his arm out saying, “you’ve got to back it up,” but the camera does not capture any contact.

Another video sees Woods lining up his shot, but a pair of fans talking about the incident.  One voice can be heard saying, “He just pushed him. He just shoved him right out of there.”

According to the suit, Borruso went to the hospital to be treated for his injuries.

Woods, who finished a shot behind Paul Casey at the event, is named in the suit because LaCava is employed by him.