Bruce Edwards usually caddies for John Cook at The Players Championship whenever his regular boss - Tom Watson - isn't playing. He's back at Sawgrass this year, and emotions were running high Wednesday.

Edwards was diagnosed in late January with Lou Gehrig's disease.

"I'm doing all right. I'm hanging in there," Edwards said after a practice round with Cook, Mark O'Meara and Tiger Woods.

Woods was walking off the 18th green when he turned and walked over to Edwards and shared a few words. Just about every caddie and most players called out to Edwards, not wanting to let go of the handshakes and hugs.

There is no known cure for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a fatal disorder that causes progressive loss of voluntary muscles because of the destruction of nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord.

"I'll beat this somehow, some way," Edwards said, his speech noticeably slower than it was a month ago while working for Watson on the Champions Tour.

Cook, who doesn't have a regular caddie, says Edwards has worked for him about 20 times, usually in Las Vegas and at The Players Championship.

"He's always been one of my favorite people, not just caddies," Cook said. "When I first came out on tour, I got to play with Tom a lot, and I always enjoyed that pairing because I knew I'd be around Bruce."

Cook arranged for Edwards to caddie for him last year and noticed then that his speech was slightly slurred. He was shocked to learn Edwards had Lou Gehrig's disease.

"But he's as sharp as can be," Cook said.

Henry Hughes, chief of operations for the PGA Tour, said Edwards is eligible under the Americans with Disabilities Act to ride a cart if he needs help getting around, particularly between the ninth green and 10th tee.

Don't count on that happening.

"He's too proud for that," Cook said. "He wants to walk. Bruce always says, 'If someone is going to beat this, it might as well be me."'