In 1999, only weeks before The Masters, Tiger Woods fired his caddy, Mike "Fluff" Cowan, and replaced him with Steve Williams. Twelve years later, Williams has suffered the same fate.

Early indications are that Williams is not taking the dismissal well. And that may be because he just lost his gravy train, and no matter whose bag he carries next, Williams' earning power just took a big hit.

Since 1999, Tiger's earnings have totaled $88.3 million with Williams standing nearby. Typically, a PGA caddy earns ten percent of a player's winnings. That means Williams has taken home more than $8.8 million in 12 years (you can see the entire breakdown below). Not bad for guessing yardage and screaming at fans with cameras.

For comparison, last year on the PGA Tour, 172 golfers played in at least 20 tournaments. Those golfers averaged $1.24 million in earnings. If each of those golfers used one caddy for the entire season, that would mean those caddies averaged a $124,000 cut for the year. Not terrible. But that is a different lifestyle than Williams is probably used to.

Williams has made more in the last 12 years with Tiger than most caddies will make in their entire careers. He might be upset with Tiger, but he also has 8.8 million reasons to be grateful.

Related: Who Will Be Tiger Woods' Next Caddy?

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