Sydney - Australians are so entranced by Tiger Woods that the arrival of his mother on a commercial flight Wednesday was deemed newsworthy by a 250-strong press pack. The world's best golfer is in
Melbourne to pick up a reported 3-million-US-dollar appearance fee and play his first tournament in
Australia in 11 years.
The 33-year-old Majors maestro drew another huge crowd for his first full crack at the sandy Kingston Heath course where four rounds, beginning Thursday, will be played.
The iron-willed Woods is favourite followed by Australia's 2006 US Open champion Geoff Ogilvy to take the JBWere Masters.
Woods carded five birdies on the way out, but evened up his card with four bogeys on the back nine when he went the full 18 holes for the first time.
"He's clearly the favourite here, but the clear favourite doesn't always win," Ogilvy said. "There are quite a few local guys who have played this style of
golf more often, know this course a little bit better."
Woods is away first thing Thursday, partnered with two former champions, Rod Pampling and Craig Parry, and 20,000 spectators will be behind the tape.
All 100,000 tickets for the Masters sold out just hours after they went on sale - a first for Australia.
Woods hasn't won on his previous three visits, tying for fifth in 1996 and coming in eighth the following year. He was here again in 1998, when an international team delivered the US team its only loss in the Presidents Cup.
Woods flew in by private jet from Shanghai after coming in tied for sixth in the World Golf Championships tournament in China's biggest city.
He professes to
love the sandy links courses that Melbourne is famous for.
"We don't get a chance to play on golf courses like this, and it's a shame more people don't design golf courses like this," Woods said at this first press conference. "You don't need them to be brutally long to be tricky and difficult."
Local professional Ian Baker-Finch predicted that Woods would be cautious playing a course he has only circled once.
"He'll play a conservative game in the first three days at least, making sure he stays in there," Baker-Finch said. "That's the way he generally plays. He stays in there, gauges the level of play he's going to need to get it done on Sunday, and takes it from there."
What has resembled a state visit has also generated a
betting bonanza. You can back Woods to make the cut, to win, to break Anthony Painter's 11 year-old Kingston Health course record of 64 and, in a first for Australian golf, you can bet on him scoring a birdie, par or a bogey on each hole he plays.
"If you could bet on how Tiger would have his eggs for breakfast, punters would jump on that too," bookmaker Gerard Daffy told Australia's AAP news agency.
One punter has backed Woods with a monster bet of 100,000 Australian dollars (92,000 US dollars).
Ogilvy urged fellow contestants not to be so in awe of Woods they ended up spooked into playing for the runner-up spot rather than for the top prize.
This year, Woods has looked vulnerable. Asked how he felt going the whole season without a major, Woods said: "You learn from it. I gave myself a chance in three of the four championships to win it, and unfortunately I didn't. You are not going to win all of them. Jack (Nicklaus) finished second 19 times."
