Dom Amore: Meet Joe LaCava, the caddie from Connecticut who is never far from golf’s spotlight

CROMWELL – The Travelers Championship has brought nearly all of the best and most relevant names in golf to the TPC, except for one elusive Tiger and those waiting to be taken back onto the PGA Tour when (or if) the LIV Golf merger takes effect.

The celebrity pro-am Wednesday paired the big golf names with folks you know from other walks of life, especially here in Connecticut.

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But this Travelers also brings an elevated game for caddies, as Connecticut guy Joe LaCava, one of the best known, best respected in the business, goes to work with Patrick Cantlay.

“For me, it’s the competition,” LaCava said Tuesday, as he walked up the hill from the 18th green after finishing Cantlay’s practice round. “I realize I’m not playing, but I enjoy the competition. To get the juices flowing when your guy plays well, there’s nothing better.”

You’ve probably seen LaCava, 68, on your screen many a Saturday and Sunday afternoon. A Newtown native, he began caddying for his cousin, Danbury’s Ken Green, on the Tour in 1987. In 1990, LaCava went to work for Fred Couples, who won 12 PGA events with him.

At Couples’ urging to pair with a younger golfer, LaCava went to work for Davis Love III, Justin Leonard and for four years with Dustin Johnson before joining Tiger Woods in 2011.

He stuck with Woods through thick and thin, but for a caddie it was mostly thin, as injuries and incidents have limited Tiger’s schedule over the last decade-plus. LaCava was there for Woods’ signature comeback at the 2019 Masters, the man Woods threw his arms around after clinching.

Last year, LaCava filled in for Cantlay and they hit it off. When Cantlay asked him to join him fulltime for this season, LaCava had Woods’ blessing.

“The season was slow to start, Tiger knew I missed caddying,” LaCava said. “Once he heard I got a decent, nice offer from Patrick, he said, basically, ‘You’d be an idiot not to take him up on that. Pat’s a good, young kid, he’s healthy, he can play the game. I wish I was healthier and I could play a little more, but I can’t. I think it’s great that you’re going to take the gig.’”

And that was that. LaCava, who still lives in Western Connecticut, has friends who belong to the TPC River Highlands and plays the course a few times a year, but he has not worked at the Travelers, or its predecessor titles, since his days with Couples. Now he’s home, and could hear a few cheers if he and Cantlay are in contention.

“Doesn’t matter who (the cheers) are for,” Cantlay said. “We’re on the same team. … He’s been in every situation before, he’s definitely going to be comfortable in every situation. Joe’s a professional and great at what he does. I’m lucky to have him.”

Like all sports, golf has changed during the long arc of LaCava’s career, from the days when it was all feel and instinct, to the modern world of analytics and bio-mechanics. LaCava’s longevity can be traced as much to his ability to adapt as to his love for the sport.

“I grew up where guys weren’t that analytical,” he said. “It was a ‘feel’ game and there wasn’t the technology at hand. We didn’t even have lasers back in my day. It’s a little bit different for me, but I’m adjusting to it and I do like it because I like to think that way. I like numbers, too.”

Cantlay, 31, uses TrackMan simulator equipment to hone his game and prepare for each course.

“He’s very analytical, Tiger was, too,” LaCava said. “All those years for Fred, he was certainly all feel, he played before there was technology. Pat’s big into TrackMan. He lives to analyze golf courses the same way that Tiger does, and i think he enjoys thinking through shots, thinking about the game all the time. He’s a bright kid and breaking down stuff and analyzing stuff is enjoyable for him.”

Caddying is far more than just carrying the clubs. At the highest level, a caddie fills many roles for a golfer. Woods, after 13 Majors, split with Steve Williams and found, in LaCava, someone he could trust for valuable opinions. LaCava has plenty of tales, but Woods’ win at the The Players Championship at Sawgrass in 2013 stands out.

“People always say ‘Augusta, 2019,’ which was incredible,” LaCava said. “But for me, 2013, when he won TPC was a big deal. It was a situation where he wasn’t in love with the golf course. He’s never had a bad attitude, but he wasn’t all that positive going around the golf course. I think I changed his outlook a little bit, made him believe that he could play that golf course well and we had that talk when the 2012 season was over and he went on to win the TPC in 2013, so that gave me a lot of satisfaction, just to change his outlook that he can play the golf course well and be successful there.”

If you’re wondering, as we all have for years, if Woods will ever be seen in Cromwell, LaCava would tell you not to get your hopes up.

“He’s playing such limited amounts of golf right now, I just don’t see it happening,” LaCava said.

Cantlay, currently ranked No. 4 in the world, is certainly among the favorites to win this week. He’s playing River Highlands for the ninth time, and his second-round 60 as an amateur in 2011 is still the lowest score ever by an amateur on the PGA Tour.

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“He likes the course, he’s played well here in the past,” LaCava said. “I like his chances anywhere, and he’s in a pretty good spot right now, playing some pretty good golf. Like any other golfer, it’s just a matter of if the putts are going in or not.”

LaCava was inducted into the Western Golf Association’s Caddie Hall of Fame in 2019, and will bring his A-game – “a steady hand on the bag,” Cantlay calls it, home for what is now one of golf’s A-list events. He won’t be in the spotlight, but just to the right, or left of it.

“I’ve been fortunate enough to work full time for two or three really good players,” LaCava said. “And when you get to work for Tiger … I always tell people ‘I work for a celebrity, I’m not one.’ And I try to stay away from that kind of stuff. I just sit back once in a while and realize how fortunate I’ve been to work for some not only great players, but great individuals as well.”