Pressure to drop caddie after race slur against Tiger Woods

STEVE WILLIAMS, the former caddie to Tiger Woods, is fighting to save his career and reputation after describing the man he helped win 13 major golf championships as "that black arsehole" at a caddies' awards ceremony in Shanghai on Friday night.

The New Zealander is well known in golfing circles for his hard-ass character – The Observer's Lawrence Donegan described him "an unsociable man in a sociable world".

But that did not prevent the audience at Le Meridien hotel being genuinely shocked by what Williams said when, accepting an award, he recalled winning the Bridgestone Invitational in August with Australian golfer Adam Scott, a few weeks after being sacked by Woods: "It was my aim to shove it right up that black arsehole".

Williams has since apologised on his website, explaining that he thought the event was private and "off the record" and that the spirit of the evening was "fun".

The golfing authorities have said they are willing to forgive and forget. "We consider the remarks of Steve Williams, as reported, entirely unacceptable in whatever context," said a statement from the PGA Tour commissioner. "We are aware that he has apologised fully and we trust we will not hear such remarks ever gain. Based on this, we consider the matter closed, and we will have no further comment."

The pressure is now on Scott, for whom Williams has been caddying since the summer, to sack him.

So far, Scott sees no reason to do that. He told journalists the morning after the Shanghai incident: "It's not an issue for me. I think everything in that room last night was all in good spirits and a bit of fun. I think it probably got taken out of that room in the wrong context."

Tiger Woods himself is thought unlikely to make any demands. As The Guardian reports today, the former world number one has "a long history of shying away from what could be described as 'social' issues".

But there is growing pressure on Scott from other caddies and sports commentators to change his mind and get rid of Williams before this week's Australian Open in Sydney, where Woods will be playing.

Donegan is no doubt that Scott should be banned from the sport. "Sexism and racism are the twin pillars of golfing intolerance," he said in his Observer column yesterday, "and should be tackled head-on at every opportunity. Instead we have this unedifying spectacle of abject leadership: look away and say nothing in the hope that it all goes away".

In The Sunday Times, David Walsh wrote: "The question shouldn't be whether Adam Scott will save Steve Williams – but if the New Zealander should be allowed to carry the bag of any self-respecting professional anytime soon".

Looking ahead to the Australian Open, Walsh concluded: "It will be a surprise and a disappointment if Williams makes it to the first tee."

James Corrigan in The Independent on Sunday says Scott was "so, so ill-advised to give Williams his full backing, if only because of the distraction it will cause to his game". Corrigan believes "the demand to punish Williams will become too great to ignore".

Should Williams be forced into early retirement as a professional caddie, he will leave the sport a rich man. During the decade he carried Woods's bag, he is understood to have been paid about 10 per cent of the champion golfer's prize money. This was enough to give him properties in the United States and New Zealand and the chance to finance his own motor racing team.

Williams must be regretting that he bothered to show up at the caddies' night out in Shanghai. As Donegan pointed out, "The big New Zealander is seldom seen at events like this. It is safe to say he will never be seen at one again." ·