The Tale of Tiger's Caddy
By BOB HARIG
St. Petersburg Times
The man behind the man has a white mustache, bushy gray hair
and a little extra baggage through the middle. He is 49 years
old and mourned when the Grateful Dead's Jerry Garcia died two
years ago.
He's been doing his job longer than his current boss has been
alive.
Mike "Fluff" Cowan has been there for every step
of Tiger Woods' professional golf career.
Woods, 21, pays tribute to the careful upbringing by his parents,
the tutelage he gets from swing instructor Butch Harmon, the advice
he's received from greats such as Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer.
But the Masters champion also is quick to point out just how
valuable Cowan has been in his rise to the top. Cowan, a veteran
of some 20 years as a caddie on the PGA Tour, has been on Woods'
bag since Woods turned pro in August.
Woods paid tribute to Cowan soon after his victory Sunday night
at Augusta National Golf Club.
"Fluff meant a lot," Woods said. "He knows my
game and he knows how to play here in Augusta. He's been here
enough times. That experience is going to help. A couple of times
on the back nine, especially on the back nine, he talked me through
some shots and helped me out a lot.
"This golf course lends itself to putts where you play
a lot of break or sometimes double break. And Fluff was able to
pinpoint an overall point in the putt.
"With that in mind, I was able to stroke the putt or hit
a good shot to the green."
The two have won five tournaments together, including one in
Thailand. And Cowan is no small part of their success.
He caddied for Peter Jacobsen for 19 years and became a bit
of a celebrity when he starred in television commercials for ESPN
and Nike. In one, Jacobsen walked on water while Cowan followed,
walking waist-deep in a man-made lake while holding Jacobsen's
clubs over his head.
Because of Jacobsen's affiliation with Nike - and since a back
injury kept him from playing - Jacobsen loaned Cowan to Woods
for the start of his career.
But because Woods was so successful, Cowan, who lives in Columbus,
Ohio, wanted to stay with him. Caddies are typically paid a weekly
salary to cover expenses and then receive a percentage of earnings.
The standard is 5 percent, with a bonus of 10 percent for a victory.
So based on that percentage, Cowan received some $48,000 of
Woods' $486,000 winner's check from the Masters. For the year,
he's made more than $72,000. He's well on his way to a $150,000
to $200,000 year - as a caddie.
That makes it easy to see why Cowan made his decision.
"It's awesome," Cowan said of Woods' Masters victory.
"I've been here a lot of times, but I truly have never been
close to winning. I don't know what word to use. It just feels
wonderful."
Woods used an Augusta National caddie during his first trip
to the Masters as an amateur in 1995. Last year, a family friend
did the work. This time, it was Cowan, who caddied for Jacobsen
in seven Masters.
The Masters allowed only Augusta National caddies to work for
the players during the tournament until 1983. This was the first
year that no Augusta caddie was used.
"Fluff's been around and can say things to him another
caddie might not," Corey Pavin said. "And I think Tiger
has listened to him quite a bit. I watched him play, and he's
hit a lot of intelligent shots (at Augusta). It helps when you
have an experienced person on the bag. It's a critical item."
"There's one thing people are forgetting to take into
account," said Paul Azinger, who played with Woods during
the second round. "As good as Tiger was in college, he was
carrying his own bag. Fluff is fantastic. Just having that steady
force, somebody who absolutely knows your swing and is able to
give you a second opinion - that makes a big difference."
(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service.)
|
