Tiger says caddie's Mickelson comments over and done with

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. (AP) — The caddie for Tiger Woods received a reprimand, but not a pink slip.

Steve Williams generated plenty of headlines this week when he was quoted at a charity dinner in New Zealand calling Phil Mickelson an obscenity and confirming in another newspaper that he doesn't like the three-time major champion.

That led to Mickelson putting out a statement extolling the class of his own caddie, and Woods issuing a statement that said he was disappointed by his caddie's ``inappropriate'' comments.

``What ended up happening is I communicated with Phil, and we have discussed it,'' Woods said Wednesday. ``I talked to Stevie about it, and he feels bad what happened. At this point, that it happened at all is something that none of us really wanted to have happen. But it's over and done with, and we put it to bed.''

Woods was asked if Williams will be on his bag when he returns next year.

``Yes, he will,'' Woods replied.

Then he paused.

``I don't know what he'll be carrying yet, but ... `` he added with a smile.

It was unclear if Woods was referring to the end of his corporate sponsorship with Buick - its logo has been on his bag for the last nine years - or if he was going to make sure the bag was extra heavy.

Tiger: I voted for Paddy for player of year

"Padraig Harrington or Tiger Woods for player of year?" has been a decent 19th-hole argument for golf fans, weighing Tiger's early season dominance, 2nd place at the Masters and U.S. Open win for the ages against Padraig's British Open and PGA Championship victories.

Consider the question resolved. Harrington won the players' vote, the writers' vote, and, most importantly, Tiger Woods's vote.

"I did actually [vote for Harrington]," Woods said Wednesday at his Chevron World Challenge tournament in Thousand Oaks, Calif.

Woods's vote is especially significant because he has voted for himself for the honor in the past. (For the record, Harrington said he abstained this year.) Woods's reasoning is the same as most people's: Harrington won two majors. And the World No. 1 was obviously impressed with how Harrington did it.

"It was nice to see Paddy play as well as he has," Woods said. "It was just a matter of -- as I said, a matter of time. The confidence you get from winning one, and then two just proves it to you that one wasn't a fluke, and it gives you all that confidence in the world. And look how he did it; he shot 32 on the back nine on both of them.

"He got it done the right way. He went out and earned it," Woods said.