CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The life of an elite PGA Tour caddie has always been somewhat mysterious to me.

There they are, always two steps behind the golfer getting the headlines. The top caddies know what is needed in a game where so much depends on confidence and provide it. They unofficially serve as coach, psychiatrist and pack mule.

Joe LaCava is one of the best caddies in the world, having worked on the PGA Tour for more than 35 years. Most famously, he was Tiger Woods’ caddie for roughly a decade, but he also worked for 20-plus years for Fred Couples and, currently, for world No. 8 golfer Patrick Cantlay, who is in the Wells Fargo field this week.

A member of the Caddie Hall of Fame, LaCava was in Charlotte on Tuesday morning as the featured speaker at the Hood Hargett Breakfast Club. He and I had an on-stage interview that was supplemented by occasional questions from the audience, and LaCava’s quotes in this story come from that appearance. LaCava told stories about working for Tiger Woods, his brief spat with Rory McIlroy at the Ryder Cup last year and how he thinks the Wells Fargo Championship will be won this week.

Let’s start with the Wells Fargo Championship, which began stroke play Thursday at Quail Hollow Club. LaCava characterized Quail Hollow as “a little bit of a bomber’s paradise,” meaning it favors long hitters.

“I went out there (Monday),” LaCava said. “There was not a lot of rough. So I think you’ve gotta bomb it. It’s a great golf course for Rory McIlroy (who has won the event three times). ... I think length off the tee helps and then the greens are extremely firm. ... Patrick (Cantlay) is capable of all that, but you’ve still got to get it done.”

Of Woods, whom he caddied for following Couples, LaCava said he found out early how detailed and technical Woods liked to be.

“With Tiger,” LaCava said, “I would do all my research on a Monday or a Sunday and then I would send him a very, very lengthy text. And he loved that. He liked to know all that before he got on the golf course. How the golf course might play that weekend. He loved that kind of stuff. And then Fred Couples — he didn’t want to think about the golf until Thursday (the day most tournaments begin).”

In his decade working for Tiger, which included Woods’ win at the 2019 Masters, LaCava said they shared dozens of meals but they were mostly room service, since Woods had a difficult time going out in public due to his level of fame. However, very early in their relationship, Woods invited him to eat a steak dinner at 5 p.m., at a restaurant opening at that exact hour.

“So I show up at 5 o’clock,” LaCava said, laughing, “and Tiger is already halfway through his steak. ... He got there early, ordered a salad, steak and baked potato, and cuts it all up and eats it in about four minutes. As soon as my salad comes, Tiger is done with his steak, and he gets up and leaves. We spent about six minutes together. From then on, I knew it was Tom Coughlin time — 5 p.m. means 10 minutes until 5.”

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