When Tiger Woods parted with his longtime caddie Joe LaCava last year, the split — though amicable — ignited rampant speculation about who Woods would tap to replace him.

Woods and LaCava had a good run together, starting in 2011. Woods won 11 times with LaCava on the bag, including the 2019 Masters. After parting with Woods, LaCava started working with Patrick Cantlay.

When Woods made his comeback at the 2023 Hero World Challenge — his first competitive event since withdrawing from the 2023 Masters and undergoing a right ankle procedure soon afterward — he did so without naming a new permanent looper. Instead, his longtime friend Rob McNamara carried his bag. Woods finished 18th in the field of 20.

But ahead of Woods’ return to the regular PGA Tour schedule at February’s Genesis Invitational, Woods was ready to debut a new full-time caddie: Lance Bennett. Bennett is a veteran looper who has worked on Tour since 2003, carrying the bag for a number of players, including Matt Kuchar, Sungjae Im and Davis Riley.

“As far as Lance is concerned,” Woods said ahead of his first round at the Genesis, “I’ve had a great relationship with him over the years going back to when he caddied for [Matt Kuchar] and when we played at the Presidents Cup together back in, what, Muirfield Village.

“Very down to earth, very loyal and how he conversated through the years, I’ve also taken notice of that,” Woods said. “We’ve had the same type of feels in how we look at the golf course and how we read putts; they’re very similar.”

Unfortunately, Woods and Bennett got off to an inauspicious start at the Genesis. Woods fired an opening round of 72, then withdrew midway through the second round, citing illness. Woods did not tee it up again competitively before arriving in Augusta.

Luckily, Woods appeared to be back to full health on Sunday, smiling in photographs from the grounds of Augusta National as he got in some practice.

On behalf of golf fans everywhere, here’s hoping Woods and Bennett’s second tournament together lasts a bit longer than their first.