He should know: Caddie Williams says Tiger in whole new place

ORLANDO, Fla. -- The scene was raucous around the 18th green at the Bay Hill Club & Lodge on Sunday night and caddie Steve Williams was perhaps more frantic than anyone.

Steve Williams says Tiger Woods is so far ahead of where he was seven years ago, 'I don't even compare the two.' (AP)

He raced around the green, eyeballing the premises and nuances of the terrain, scanning the area like a hawk who'd skipped lunch.

No, he wasn't helping his man, Tiger Woods, survey what proved to be the tournament-winning birdie putt -- the runaway world No. 1 had drained the game-winner a few moments earlier. Williams was looking for the flag from atop the stick on the 18th, which he wanted as a memento from Woods' 64th PGA Tour victory.

"Where is it?" he said, scurrying through the throng while taking time to bear-hug host Arnold Palmer in the process. "Did you see who took it?"

At this point, the colorful keepsake is about all that's missing from Woods' other-worldly arsenal. Just ask Williams, who has been on the bag for two of the most mind-boggling streaks in the game's annals: Woods as the simultaneous holder of four major-championship titles, circa 2000-01, and the reinvented and reinvigorated Tiger of today.

Apples and oranges, Williams said, if not salmon eggs and caviar.

Conceding to a rare interview as Woods was putting his arms into an Arnold Palmer Invitational championship blazer for the fifth time, Williams said the experience Woods has gleaned over the seven years since winning the so-called Tiger Slam has made him that much tougher to whip than before.

Nobody is arguing.

"In 2000-01, Tiger was putting unbelievable; his putting was amazing," Williams said. "He didn't hit the ball anywhere near like he hits it now, didn't have anywhere near the array of shots and anywhere near the course management and course control. I don't even compare the two, to be honest with you."

That's a subjective assessment, of course. A more quantifiable yardstick works, too. Dating to his victory at the 2006 British Open, Woods has won 17 of his past 25 PGA Tour starts, including his past five in a row. Counting his victory on the European Tour earlier this year, Woods is 4-0 in 2008 as he heads this week to Miami's Doral Golf Resort & Spa, where he's won his past three starts.

It's a staggering conversion clip that never grows stale or stagnant for either of them, Williams said. Somehow, Woods is able to compartmentalize every tournament -- if not every day, every hole and every shot -- and it usually adds up to the same thing of late: running laps around his opponents.

Simile intended.

"You don't get used to it," said Williams, a New Zealand native who is perhaps his country's top dirt-track driver. "I drive race cars for a living, as well as doing this. As soon as the week finishes, you are on to the next week and everybody is level par and trying to win the tournament. Everybody is equal again tomorrow. You still have to work the same 'hard' next week to win the tournament."