Quiet Tiger proves cats don’t like the water

JUST what do you say when you’re about to tee off against the world number one? Forget golf, try talking about fishing instead.

A smiling Padraig Harrington was full of chatter as he wandered around the first tee, just moments before his game with Tiger Woods yesterday. Even his eyes seemed to smile in stark contrast to Tiger’s serious stare as thousands watched the duo begin their match.

“Were you fishing in that river at all,” Harrington asked of Tiger, as the two flexed and arched their backs. His words hung in the air.

There was no response from a pensive and focused Woods.

Unlike Mike Weir and a few others who hooked a few trout during breaks in the practice sessions earlier in the week, Woods was not partaking in such diversions. He didn’t even smile until he approached the second green. But it was worth the wait to see his pearly whites as he struck the ball.

There may have been 49 players out on the course, but all eyes were on the Tiger as he stood up to the challenge of his rivals. The only question on everyone’s lips was, would he be the last known survivor on Sunday when the World Golf Championships ends.

Hazy sunshine and record crowds set the scene in the magnificently manicured course. It was as if someone had taken a nail scissors to the greens and had combed the bunkers with a fork. The only blot on the snooker table-like course was a few fallen leaves.

More than 30,000 turned out to watch the golf and they feasted on poached salmon salads at 12 a pop and the ‘special’ which included a glass of wine for 15. Baseball caps at 20 were selling fast as were the 80 American Express Championships shell jackets.