The 2023 Wells Fargo Championship in Charlotte, N.C., will feature two of the biggest names in golf making a never-before-seen partnership.
Patrick Cantlay has a new caddie in Joe LaCava, the long-time bag man for Tiger Woods. It's a move the current No. 4 player in the world — per the Official World Golf Rankings — made to help elevate his game after a recent dearth of PGA Tour victories.
Whether his new partnership with LaCava proves fruitful remains to be seen. Regardless, those who closely follow the sport might find it jarring to see the legendary caddie working with someone other than Woods.
Here's everything you need to know about why Cantlay hired LaCava — and why the latter parted ways with Tiger — ahead of the 2023 Wells Fargo Championship:
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Who is Patrick Cantlay's caddie?
LaCava is not only serving as Cantlay's caddie for the Wells Fargo Championship, but also for "the foreseeable future," according to a report from the Golf Channel's Todd Lewis:
On the bag for @patrick_cantlay this week at the @WellsFargoGolf and for the foreseeable future is Joe Lacava who got the blessing from friend and former boss @TigerWoods to make the move to Cantlay. This is not a one off but a full time move for Lacava. pic.twitter.com/nAIMtmylpb
— Todd Lewis (@ToddLewisGC) May 2, 2023
LaCava — who previously caddied 22 years for Fred Couples and briefly with former world No. 1 Dustin Johnson — most recently caddied for Tiger, starting in 2011. The two partnered up after Tiger decided to move on from his former caddie, Steve Williams.
Cantlay had an opening at caddie after parting ways with his former bag man, Matt Minister. Their last event together came at the Zurich Classic, where Cantlay and partner Xander Schauffele finished tied for fourth on April 23. Cantlay and Minister's last win together was in the 2022 BMW Championship.
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Why did Joe LaCava leave Tiger Woods?
LaCava's move to become the full-time caddie for Cantlay isn't overly surprising, considering Woods underwent ankle surgery on April 19: It will likely keep him out of play for some time. The number of events he will play on an annual basis was already greatly reduced after he underwent extensive surgery and rehab following his February 2021 car crash.
It made sense for LaCava to join another golfer as a full-time caddie, even after he previously declined to work for others while Woods missed events with recurring back issues. His son, Joe LaCava Jr., also caddied for Tiger's son Charlie Woods at the PNC Championship in 2021 and 2022.
LaCava said he checked with Woods before ultimately deciding to partner with Cantlay:
"Tiger's not going to play much going forwards," LaCava told PGATour.com on Tuesday. "Obviously he's not retiring. But he's going to play two to six tournaments a year. Tiger and I have talked about if something were to come up, feel free to do something. 'I know how much you miss it, how much you love caddying.' And when this opportunity arose, I checked with Tiger. And he said, 'You're crazy not to take the job, go forward, go win some tournaments, go have a great time.'
"I missed it and I wanted to work more," LaCava said. "(Cantlay) knows me well enough, and I know him well enough, that we know it's hopefully-slash-probably going to work."
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Why did Patrick Cantlay hire Joe LaCava?
Following his split with Minister, Cantlay was in need of a new full-time caddie. He got a recommendation to reach out to LaCava from Couples.
"I've been friends with Fred Couples a long time, he's been in Newport Beach for a number of years now and we've played a lot of golf together, so I've heard a number of great things about Joe," Cantlay said (via Golf.com). "You know, when I reached out to Joe, he said it was possible and ended up working out and I'm really happy about it.
"(LaCava's) just a steady hand on the steering wheel," he added. "I know he's been in every moment a caddie could be in and he's just a good guy. So I've enjoyed the limited time that I've spent with him and feel confident that we'll be a good team out there."
Cantlay said he didn't reach out to Tiger to OK the move with him, saying, "I haven't spoken to Tiger."
Cantlay and LaCava have 38 combined victories together. Eight from Cantlay and 31 from LaCava — including 11 he won while caddying for Tiger.
