The Tiger Woods racism row looks set to overshadow this week's Australian Open after it was revealed that the former world No1 and his ex-caddie will be kept apart at the tournament in Sydney following Steve Williams' racial remarks against Woods.
Woods is preparing to make his first appearance in Sydney and was widely expected to be paired with home favourite Adam Scott for the opening two rounds in a high-profile pairing.
However, tournament director Tony Roosenburg ruled out the possibility after Williams described Woods as a "black a***hole" on Friday night.
Williams' current employer, the Australian Adam Scott, attracted further criticism over the weekend after he said his caddie meant no racial slur against Woods when he made the comment about the 14-time major champion at an awards dinner in Shanghai on Friday.
"I believe there is absolutely no room for racial discrimination in any walk of life, including the game of golf," Scott said in a statement issued today by tournament organisers.
"I have discussed this matter directly with Steve and he understands and supports my view on this subject. I also accept Steve's apology, knowing that he meant no racial slur with his comments."
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Williams, who split from Woods in July, made the remarks as he accepted an award from BBC presenter Andrew Cotter at the 4 Nov. event attended by caddies and players at Shanghai's Le Meridien hotel.
The New Zealander was receiving an award for the year's best celebration - a nod to his tongue-in-cheek remark that Scott's victory at the Bridgestone Invitational in August was 'the best win of my career' - despite winning 13 majors with Woods.
Asked what the celebration was about, Williams said: "It was my aim to shove it right up that black a**hole."
Williams apologised the next day, saying he could see how his comments could be interpreted as racist and the U.S. and European Tours appeared to draw a line under the incident on Sunday, after they considered the matter closed despite Williams' "entirely unacceptable" remark.
Nevertheless, Scott's failure to sack Williams and the insipid response by the golfing authorities means the story will undoubtedly add fuel to the fire ahead of this week's tournament in Sydney.
But Scott, despite increasing pressure to dismiss Williams, remained unmoved on Sunday, saying: "I don't see it being an issue moving forward."
Scott has argued that Williams' comments should not have left the annual caddies' function - which was stipulated as being strictly "off the record" by organisers - and that the context had not been fairly represented. He grew frustrated on Sunday when asked if he was ignoring racism by refusing to discipline Williams. "Look, I don't think digging for a story out of me on this is a good idea," he said.
And two-time major champion Greg Norman appeared to back Scott's judgement, saying that Williams, who previously worked for him, isn't a racist.
"We've all made stupid comments at stupid times," Norman said at a televised news conference.
"Unfortunately his stupid comment became global news. Because of the temperature that was going on between the two of them, anything that is said or not said is going to exacerbate whatever that feeling is."
