Anthony Quayle hails influence of Tiger Woods’ ex-caddie after strong Australian PGA start
Tiger Woods’ legendary former bagman Steve Williams has helped transform Anthony Quayle’s game, with the New South Welshman shooting four-under in the first round of the Australian PGA.
Anthony Quayle hailed the influence of Steve Williams, the former caddie of Tiger Woods, after an impressive opening round of four-under 67 at the Australian PGA Championship.
Quayle met Williams at this year’s New Zealand Open, with the veteran Kiwi bagman agreeing to caddie for the 31-year-old New South Welshman for the PGA in Brisbane and next week’s Australian Open at Royal Melbourne.
“He’s probably the most positive and clear caddie that I’ve ever worked with,” Quayle said after his good first round at Royal Queensland on Thursday.
“He probably has a reputation for being quite intense, but my experience today wasn’t that at all.
“It was just very direct (with) ‘this is what we need to do here, you think you can do it? Yes, let’s do it then’.
“There was no room at all for any sort of doubt at any point. It just didn’t seem to creep into my mind.
“Anytime I did make a little bit of a mistake, it wasn’t like he was jumping on me. It was like ‘yeah, that’s fine mate, everyone makes bad swing from time to time, let’s make a good one on the next one’.
“It was really good.”
Quayle’s round had him among the early clubhouse leaders before he finished the day three strokes behind Spain’s Sebastian Garcia, who was seven-under through 15 holes when play was halted, and later suspended for the day, due to inclement weather.
“Today just felt like it was solid from start to finish,” said Quayle after his first round as a fully fledged DP World Tour player.
“I missed a couple, made a couple and it just feels like about the score I ought to have shot for how I played.
“There’s just a little bit more intensity out there, which has just maybe elevated or sharpened some of the involvement with the shots that I’m hitting.
“The game feels really good … without being great and I’m hoping that Steve can just bring maybe part of that missing ingredient for me these next couple of weeks.”
Quayle – who shot an eight-under 63 in the final round of last year’s Australian PGA to finish in a tie for third behind winner Elvis Smylie and runner-up Cam Smith – on Thursday played alongside Spain’s Josele Ballester and Mexico’s Carlos Ortiz, who shot rounds of three-under and even par respectively.
“Last year I was even through seven (in the final round), (then) I had eight birdies in the last 11 holes,” Quayle said.
“I felt like I was walking on water for the last 11.”
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