I could think of nobody less likely to need a police escort to the driving range than Steve Williams. The imposing, powerful frame of the New Zealander cut through the crowd gathered around the entrance to the range, with his bag but without Tiger Woods. Accompanying him was a delicate looking policewoman, which made me wonder who was guarding whom.

He has a routine of having a long break after each round while his boss entertains the world's media. He was waiting for the press conference to end with another of his boss' employees, Butch Harmon, discussing Woods' opening round in the 129th Open, when I caught up with him behind the range.

Williams' alliance with the best golfer in the world began with a personal phone call from Woods in February 1999. There was a missing link in the Woods package at the time, but that phone call led to the shaping of the most formidable talent that golf has ever seen.

Williams had finished caddying for his previous player, Raymond Floyd, at the end of the 1998 season, and was spending the off-season back in his native New Zealand. A real caddie at heart, Williams had decided to go down to the World Cup venue in Aukland that November to see if he could pick up a spare bag in the car-park. He ended up caddying for Per Haugsrud from Norway. Haugsrud, at somewhere around the 200 mark in the world rankings at the time, was to prove Williams' last bag before he started with Woods. So he went from one of the lesser ranked players to the best in the space of a few months. Williams started looping back in 1979, when he caddied on the Australian tour. One of his earliest employers was Terry Gale, who now plays quite a few events on the European Seniors Tour. He still keeps in regular contact with Gale, who was a formidable contender in his day. He was tough but fair to work for, and may well be responsible for grounding the young Williams in sound caddying practice.

Twenty one years later, Williams has 76 tournament victories under his belt. His most satisfying so far was the US Open last month (the British Open win last Sunday was also pretty rewarding.) His smallest victory came in the Rolex Masters in Singapore, a minor side-event on the Asian Tour which was played by those golfers who did not qualify for the Indian Open. At the time, Williams worked for the charismatic John Jacobs, now a prominent player on the US Seniors Tour. Jacobs received $5000 for his victory and gave the cheque to Williams. He has come a long way since the Asian Tour and today earns more than the leading player in Asia.

Williams sampled top level golf when caddying for Greg Norman in the 1980s, but is emphatic that Woods is superior to any of his previous employers. "His mind is better than anyone else I have worked for. When it counts the most, Tiger plays best. The bigger the situation the better he performs. This sets him apart. He thrives on the magnitude of situations."

There is no doubt that Williams has had a positive effect on Woods' outstanding performances since picking up his bag. Woods is one of the first to admit as much, and Harmon agrees: "Steve was the one missing weapon in Tiger's arsenal." Williams had caddied in three Opens around the Old Course and three Dunhill Cups before last week. However, even though he had been round the links many times during his 13-hour pre-129th Open inspection, he discovered an ancient bunker (that would fit two sheep at a squeeze) that he had never known to exist. Woods did not visit a bunker during all four rounds of the tournament. That's the result of a very talented player being given equally expert directions.

Woods had played at St Andrews in one Dunhill Cup and at the Open in 1995 as an amateur, but did not know the course as well as his faithful sherpa. Many of the judgement calls throughout the week came courtesy of Williams' experience; his boss was simply swinging the club and holing the putts. In what appears to be a union based on mutual respect and understanding, the Woods/Williams duo has made a formidable start to what should be one of the more memorable player/caddie relationships in modern golf.

I noticed on the 18th green last Sunday that when the pin was replaced by a triumphant Williams, it was missing the flag. Steve had stashed the memento discreetly into his bag as he headed for home. I wonder how many more flags the Kiwi caddie will be collecting. If Woods has anything to do with it, the figure will be high.