The hotel room phone rang around 8pm on Tuesday, March 2, 1999, in Miami Beach, Florida. Its tinny, high-pitched buzz was particularly annoying for veteran golf caddie Steve Williams, an early riser who didn’t appreciate late-night calls at the best of times. And certainly not the day after he’d landed from a 20-hour, 8,000-mile journey from Auckland, New Zealand.
Williams was slumped over the bed, half asleep but trying to stay awake until nine in an attempt to thwart jet lag. Normally, he’d stay at the house of his boss, golf star Raymond Floyd, in nearby Indian Creek Island, but it was full of guests. They were in town to watch Floyd play his home event, the PGA Tour’s prestigious DoralRyder Open.
Reluctantly, Williams picked up the phone. After all,…
