Tiger fever grips Australia

Nov 9, 2009, 4:14 GMT

   Sydney - It's a measure of his pulling power that Tiger Woods is earning 10 times more just for teeing off in the Australian Masters than he would if the tournament ends with the golf god's trademark fist-pump victory celebration.

   But an appearance fee of 3.3 million Australian dollars (3 million US dollars) seemed warranted Monday when the arrival of his private jet in Melbourne was headline news.

   Even his accommodation at the Crown Casino was described in detail with the world number one in digs that feature a private lift, marble-tiled bathrooms and a bevy of servants.

   Woods, who last played a tournament in Australia 11 years ago, has helped organizers sell all the 100,000 tickets for the sandy Kingston Heath course.

   His first visit, as a 20-year-old, was in 1996, the year the three-time US amateur champion turned professional. He didn't win his first Australian tournament but picked up a few hundred thousand dollars for taking part in a contest won by former world number one Greg Norman.

   He wasn't victorious on his last visit either, in 1998, when he led the US team to defeat by the Internationals in the Presidents Cup.

   The clamour to get a glimpse of Woods was so great that tickets for the tournament's gala dinner Tuesday sold out in minutes with fans parting with 6,000 Australian dollars just to see the legend of the links hold a knife and fork.

   Woods, who has won 14 majors, flew in from Shanghai after coming sixth in the World Golf Championships in China's biggest city.

   The presence of Woods has drawn potential giant killers to Melbourne for the Masters.

   Local aspirant James Nitties is hoping to play alongside Woods - or even get the better of him in the tournament. But he said his goal was to play well rather than beat Woods.

   'It's not like you say, 'All I want to do is beat Tiger this year,' because he could finish 20th and you finish 19th,' Nitties said. 'But, usually, if you beat Tiger, you end up winning the tournament.'