Professional golf career of Tiger Woods continuing to work on his recovery, and planning for the long term. Woods also missed the 2011 British Open, still recovering from injury. He fired his longtime caddy Steve Williams following the AT&T National in early July; Williams now caddies for Adam Scott. Woods returned to tournament play in early August, following a break of 11 weeks, at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, where he is a seven-time champion. He had Bryon Bell as caddy; Bell is a childhood friend, former high school golf teammate, and current employee of Tiger Woods Design; Bell had caddied for Woods on several previous occasions, dating
Tiger Woods of the Year a record-tying four times, and is one of only two people to be named "Sports Illustrated"s Sportsman of the Year more than once. Since his record-breaking win at the 1997 Masters, Woods became the biggest name in golf, and his presence in tournaments drew a huge fan following . Some sources have credited him for dramatically increasing prize money in golf, generating interest in new PGA tournament audiences, and for drawing the largest TV ratings in golf history. During the first decade of his professional career, Woods was the world's most marketable athlete. Shortly after his 21st