ATLANTA -- Tiger Woods announced Sunday he hired Joe LaCava to be his third full-time caddie.

Woods announced the news on his official website.

"Joe is an outstanding caddie, and I have known him for many years," Woods said. "I've personally seen the great job he did for Freddie (Couples). I'm anxious for us to be working together."


Woods
LaCava was the longtime caddie for Fred Couples, a relationship that ended in the summer because Dustin Johnson was looking for a caddie and Couples' playing schedule was being reduced because of his health.

"I'm excited to be working with Tiger," LaCava said in a statement on Woods' website. "I contacted Tiger and (agent) Mark (Steinberg) because this is a unique opportunity to be part of something very special. Tiger and I have been friends for a very long time, and I know what he can do."

Woods fired Steve Williams after nearly 13 years this summer after Williams worked for Adam Scott while Woods was recovering from a knee injury. One person said LaCava informed Johnson of his decision after the final round of the Tour Championship.

LaCava waited for him at his courtesy car to load up his clubs, and their farewell in the parking lot was routine. Johnson had planned to take a couple of friends to Scotland to caddie for him and his brother, Austin, his amateur partner.

Johnson won The Barclays last month with LaCava on the bag, and the news was a surprise. However, LaCava has two children, ages 12 and 14, and as long as he has been a caddie, wants to be spending more time at home. Johnson also is leaning toward taking up European Tour membership next year, which would mean about four additional tournaments overseas.

Woods, even when fully healthy, plays a limited schedule.

The question is whether Woods can make this a profitable move for LaCava. Woods hasn't won in more than two years on the PGA Tour, and he did not qualify for the FedEx Cup playoffs this year, mainly because he missed nearly four months with an injury.

Woods has said his left leg is stronger than it has been in years. Woods next plays at the Frys.com Open in two weeks at CordeValle, about an hour south of San Francisco. Woods also is playing the Australian Open and the Presidents Cup, a competition that will feature all of his caddies -- Mike Cowan (now with Jim Furyk) and Williams, who works for Scott.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

I wish the best of luck for the two of them.

Should be a good thing for both. You can't caddie forever , and the end of Tiger's career should coincide with LaCava's retirement time. Of course ; you get to caddie for one of the best players to ever tee it up too !

Must have been hard to leave Dustin's bag though.

La Cava will likely have a little bit of resilience to the carnival atmosphere that surrounds Tiger. He was on Freddy's bag when he was the darling of the Tour and had a huge gallery.
I hope they do well together - and that Joe doesn't say Hi to the wrong person and get fired.
Tele

Dustin and Joe didn't light it up so that may have been a factor. Plus he was thinking about playing more on the Euro Tour and Joe's kids are at the lovely teen stage.

It's actually a dream job for LaCava. He wanted to spend more time with his kids, so a reduced schedule is great for him. The upside is while working a reduced schedule, he can become the highest earning caddie if Tiger gets back to his old ways of playing golf. It's a win/win for LaCava.

Wonder if he still lives around here?

I think ...pair Tiger with Dustin Johnson and have them go against Adam Scott and ...maybe...VJ Singh.

Lots of caddie intrigue and such. Should be good for ratings.

Who is Tiger going to be paired with? Without Jim Furyk, Fred will have to find someone else that sort of fits as a partner. Maybe Stricker, but Steve is a big question mark with his injury.

He was paired with Stricker last time