Caddie Cam I learned plenty about Team Tigre at the Players

Ben Crenshaw and I have been paired with El Tigre in several
practice rounds, but at the Players Championship, in which we
drew him for the first two days, I learned that he doesn't show
his true stripes until he's under pressure. Believe me, as good
as his game looks on the tube, it's better close-up. What's
impressive is not only the way the cat makes the ground shake
with his tee shots but also the way he doesn't let his rabid fans
bug him. Some of them don't even watch him play--they wait between
holes hoping to get close enough to say something to him as he
walks by. Eldrick might pretend to be oblivious, but the little
asides he was throwing out told me that his peripheral vision is
about 280 degrees. Actually, Steve Williams puts himself in a
deeper trance than his man. Because the Striped One is about
three clubs longer than Ben, I jokingly said to Steve on
Thursday, "Hey, man, keep your nose out of my bag." He didn't
even grunt. In two days I didn't catch him drawing the $5 fine
for breaking the caddies' code and uttering the T-word.

Linn Stricker, a.k.a. Growler, is a veteran Tour caddie.

COLOR PHOTO: DAVID WALBERG