LYTHAM, July 22: Tiger Woods will not have a reunion with his ex-caddie Steve Williams in Sunday’s final twosome at the British Open even though for much of the third round it looked like that was set to happen.

Instead, 54-hole leader Adam Scott, who now has Williams as his bagman, will play alongside Northern Ireland’s Graeme McDowell with 14-time major champion Woods in the penultimate pairing alongside fellow American Brandt Snedeker.

Woods, who fired Williams a year ago and now has Joe LaCava as his caddie, had been the target of insults from Williams last year, after Williams hooked up with Scott and quickly won a World Golf Championships event.

“I was very fortunate on the timing with Steve,” Scott said. “We’re getting on really well out there. He believes in the way I’m going about my business.

“And at some point tomorrow, I’m sure there’s going to be a time when I’m going to lean on his experience and he’s going to have some great advice for me on how to tackle a certain situation. And that’s an advantage.”

Williams, from New Zealand, apologised to Woods last year for his comments when they met at the Australian Open in Sydney and agreed to shake hands and move on.

Woods would not say if a potential final-pairing date with Scott and Williams was on his mind as he stood in second place on the back nine at Royal Lytham before a late bogey and birdies by Snedeker and McDowell doomed the bid.

“Final pairing, whatever it may be, I was just trying to cut into the lead,” said Woods, who when asked if he would have wanted to be in the last group replied, “Well, I’m not. So it is what it is.”

Scott, who leads Snedeker and McDowell by four strokes and Woods by five in quest of his first major title, said he would not have minded having Woods alongside him in the final group. Agencies