Williams was free to go anywhere at any time. He had no fixed contract as a caddy. I am not a Woods worshipper but I really cannot stand whiners. Especially one who earned a ton of money for his “skilled labor”.
He received his first break as a caddy in 1976, when his father arranged for him to carry the bags of Australian great Peter Thomson in the New Zealand Open. Thomson, who finished third, was impressed with the young Williams, who became his regular caddy when he played in New Zealand. The teenaged Williams also traveled to Australia on school breaks to caddy in tournaments there. In 1979, before he turned 16, he left school and moved to Europe to become a caddy on the European Tour.
Williams spent much of the next decade caddying on almost all of the world's major professional tours. He got steady work with several Australian pros, among them Ian Baker-Finch. During this time, he met Greg Norman, and in 1982 became Norman's regular caddy in all his events in Asia and Australia, as well as some European events. In 1988, Williams moved to the United States to become Norman's full-time caddy. However, Norman would fire him in 1989. Williams admitted later that he had gotten too close personally to Norman. Nonetheless, the two remain good friends, and Norman later admitted he had made a mistake and tried to rehire him several years later. Williams would not long stay unemployed, as Raymond Floyd hired him shortly after Norman let him go. He continued to carry Floyd's bag on both the regular and senior U.S. tours until 1999.
Early in the 1999 season at the Doral - Ryder Open, Woods' then-coach Butch Harmon approached Williams, asking if he would be interested in caddying for Woods, who had just fired his original tour caddy, Mike "Fluff" Cowan. Harmon had previously asked Floyd's permission to talk with Williams. After the event, Williams drove to Orlando to interview with Woods, who hired him on the spot.
Woods and Williams' relationship extended beyond the golf course, as Woods attended Williams' wedding in New Zealand in 2005 and has observed many of Williams' races.
Williams has been known to aggressively defend Woods on the course from overbearing fans. At one event, he wrestled a $7,000 camera from a fan who clicked a picture of Woods during his backswing and threw it in a pond.
In 2001, Williams started a charitable foundation to assist junior golfers in his homeland. This charitable involvement was cited in his appointment as Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit, announced on 4 June 2007 in the Queen's Birthday Honours list. In his free time, Williams also indulges a long-time passion for Speedway Racing, and races a Saloon car and a Super Saloon regularly during the speedway season. He was the national Super Saloon car champion for 2005/2006. He won the coveted Saloon Car title for the 2009/2010 season.
Williams gave NZ$1 million to a cancer ward at Starship Children's Health in 2008.