The remarkable financial legacy of Steve Williams, the former caddie who helped Tiger Woods dominate golf, is facing its first serious challenge in years. Williams, whose net worth was reported at a staggering $20 million (approximately £14.9 million), has long been considered the sport's highest-earning bagman. However, that record is now in imminent danger from a new generation.
The Unbreakable Record Built with Tiger
For over a decade, Steve Williams was the iconic figure on Tiger Woods' bag during the most prolific period of the American's career. Their partnership, which lasted 12 years, yielded an incredible 13 of Woods' 15 major championship titles. The New Zealander's earnings from their successful run cemented a fortune that seemed untouchable.
The only major victories Woods achieved without Williams were his first Masters win in 1997 and his emotional comeback triumph at Augusta in 2019, by which time Joe LaCava had taken over caddying duties. The end of the Woods-Williams era, however, was not a graceful one.
The Dramatic Fallout That Ended an Era
The prolific partnership dissolved dramatically in 2011. The rift began when Woods withdrew from the US Open, and Williams agreed to caddy for his friend and Woods' rival, Adam Scott. Williams stated he had cleared it with Woods initially, only for the golf legend to change his mind.
"I was told after US Open that I no longer had a job and it’s as simple as that," Williams revealed in a 2014 interview. He later expressed profound personal hurt in a 2021 documentary, noting Woods was the best man at his wedding and the subsequent silence was "a hard pill to swallow." This very public split marked the end of one of golf's most successful player-caddie duos.
The New Contender: Ted Scott's Meteoric Rise
With Williams now semi-retired, a new caddie is racing towards the financial pinnacle. Ted Scott, the trusted caddie for world number one Scottie Scheffler, has seen his estimated earnings skyrocket. While exact figures are private, the standard PGA Tour caddie percentage—10% of a win and 5-7% for other finishes—allows for educated estimates.
According to calculations by Golf Monthly, Scott may have earned over $7 million (£5.2 million) in just the 2024 and 2025 seasons alone. With Scheffler securing major wins like The Open and PGA Championship in 2025, Scott's trajectory is sharply upward. At just 29 years old, he has ample time to surpass Williams' long-standing record.
Meanwhile, Steve Williams has briefly returned to the circuit, offering his experience to Australian professional Anthony Quayle on the DP World Tour. His record, however, is firmly in the sights of the new guard, signalling a changing of the guard in the lucrative world of professional golf caddying.
