As Tiger Woods's caddie, Steve Williams was striding from the rough towards the 18th green at Firestone in order to provide his boss with accurate yardage, Stuart Dryden was having no such navigational duress in giving his player the right yardage.

He paced gently down the middle of most fairways on the Centenary course at Gleneagles to find Paul Casey's ball in the last round of the Scottish PGA. Both caddies assisted their players to victory last weekend under different circumstances.

Paul Casey is a 24-year-old recently turned professional golfer from the Surrey. He won his first victory as a professional last Sunday in the Scottish highlands. Having turned professional last November he found himself in an awkward situation with nowhere to play. He was too late to enter the Tour Schools on either side of the Atlantic. So he had to make do with playing some Buy.Com and Canadian Tour events while waiting for an opportunity to try the schools at the end of this year.

There have been many good amateurs like Paul Casey who have drifted off the rails with bad advice and direction during their formative years as professionals. After winning back-to-back English Amateur Championships and being the star of the European amateur team it was going to take some serious misdirection to lead this rare talent astray .

When Casey left school in 1995 he started inquiring about the American College system and went to Arizona State University for three years.

It's no wonder then that the players on the European Tour have mistaken the newcomer for an American, most are surprised to find that he is from Weybridge in Surrey. Having received invites to two US Tour events earlier this year at Pebble Beach and Doral and missing the cuts in both of them, his management group decided to send him down the European road.

You are allowed a maximum of seven invites in European Tour events as a non-member assuming you have some sort of amateur pedigree. Once you make as much money as the 115th player on the Order of Merit of the previous year then you can play on unlimited invitation for the rest of the year, assuming your management group has enough 'pull' to get them for the player.

This is exactly how Tiger Woods gained his US tour card in 1996. Woods of course happened to win on his third outing. It took Paul Casey 11 events to seal his first victory, rapid progress by normal standards.

Paul did not complete his final year in Arizona. He was frustrated with his coach and decided to turn professional earlier than he had intended. I suppose you would have to believe in fate to understand his caddie Stuart Dryden's decision to link up with the aspiring golfer.

Having worked for Jean Van de Velde earlier in the year and having been presented with the option to go to the States with the Frenchman, to his better judgment Dryden declined. He had caddied for Raymond Russell in Morocco earlier in the year, Russell has the same manager as Casey. When Casey got his first invite to play in the Benson and Hedges in May, Russell recommended Dryden to his manager as a potential caddie for the novice.

So while Stuart was trying to work out the best move for himself, Casey made the decision for him with his 12th-place finish in his first European Tour event. Another caddie had asked Dryden what he was intending to do. He explained Casey's status of having seven events to prove himself so to speak by making about £70,000. The confident caddie maintained that he would accomplish this goal after five events. He was relying, as often you must as a caddie, on his talent-scouting abilities. When the question is posed about a choice of employment - old reliable or young gun? - the caddie must use his/her own judgment about a young player's potential.

The advantage for a more experienced caddie with a young player is that they are in a better position to mould the novice. Which is good for both as long as the caddie knows what he is doing. Dryden is vastly experienced having worked for many top golfers.

The ability for the seasoned bagman to contribute, not only on course with strategy and advice but on tour in general, is limitless. When to practice, how to practice, where to stay, where to eat? The caddie can give the younger player smoother access to a sometimes hostile new environment on Tour .

It's more difficult to influence the more seasoned players. There is never the same level of respect for familiar faces especially when they are associated solely with carrying a bag. Therefore caddying for a young player can be far more satisfying for the experienced toter.

Casey had been struggling with his long game for the first two rounds of the Wales Open. Without his coach in tow, Dryden offered his opinion. Between them they worked out the problem.

He carried his form through to last week in Gleneagles. Between the player and caddie again they worked out a putting stroke flaw.

It was no surprise then that Casey paid tribute to his caddie Dryden after all the usual names had been reeled off in his winner's speech.

So Paul Casey goes into this week's event with a status on tour that has been quickly elevated from some English guy who went to university in Arizona, to a tournament winner and serious contender on the European Tour.