Tiger Woods confirms Rob McNamara, longtime business partner, as caddie for Hero

NASSAU, Bahamas – Dreams of Tiger Woods naming his son Charlie as his caddie will have to wait.

There’s an open position on Woods’ bag following longtime caddie Joe LaCava’s move to Patrick Cantlay earlier this spring. For now, a full-time replacement is still in flux.

“I don't think Charlie's going to be able to caddie,” said Woods, who spent several weeks this fall caddying for Charlie in various junior tournaments. "[He] can't play hooky that often.”

Woods confirmed Tuesday that Rob McNamara, his longtime business partner and vice president of TGR Ventures, will fill in this week at the Hero World Challenge. It is Woods’ first start since he underwent a subtalar fusion procedure in his right ankle in April. Woods withdrew from the third round of the Masters because of pain in the ankle, which stemmed from a broken talus bone suffered in a February 2021 car crash.

Who will assume full-time caddie duties after the Hero World Challenge? That remains to be seen.

“I don't know. Honestly, I really don't know,” Woods said. “I was just looking forward to this week and seeing how things turned out. I'm curious to see what 72 holes looks like on the body and my game and then try and set a schedule going forward into next year."

Whoever steps in will have large shoes to fill. LaCava, 59, who began working with Patrick Cantlay full-time at the Wells Fargo Championship in May, spent the last 12 years as Woods’ caddie. LaCava caddied for Fred Couples for 20 years, and after a brief stint working with Dustin Johnson, he jumped to Woods’ bag in 2011. The duo won the 2019 Masters together.

“Tiger’s not going to play much going forward," LaCava said at Quail Hollow Club in May. "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.'”

Woods now embarks on a new journey in a different stage of his career. When LaCava replaced Stevie Williams on Woods’ bag, the 15-time major winner ranked inside the top 25 of the Official World Golf Ranking. Woods won four times in the first year of his partnership with LaCava. Woods, currently outside the top 1,000 in the world, said Tuesday that playing one PGA TOUR event per month would be the “best-case scenario.”

Speculation that Charlie could potentially take over began to percolate after Woods caddied for him at numerous points this fall. But Charlie won’t be able to return the favor just yet.

Woods will be paired with Justin Thomas when the Hero starts Thursday. The two friends will tee off at 11:52 a.m. ET.