Tiger roars into action

TIGER WOODS rolled into Co Kilkenny yesterday and his presence had an electrifying effect.

Major golf tournaments these days without Woods are not quite the same so the $5.5 million American Express World Championship beginning here tomorrow is certain to be a hit simply because of American’s presence.

He is fully rested having stayed away from the competitive scene since his brilliant but ultimately futile attempt to deprive Rich Beem of the US PGA Championship at Hazeltine four weeks ago and looks one very hungry Tiger.

He has already won seven world championships including the Am-Ex in 1999 and doesn’t intend to sit on his laurels.

Woods flew into Cork airport aboard his private jet at 7.30am yesterday and was driven from there to Mount Juliet where he slept for a few hours before making his way to the first tee at 2pm.

A crowd of around 400 people looked on as the runaway world number one, accompanied by his faithful caddy Steve Williams, made his way around the first nine holes of Jack Nicklaus’s magnificent creation deep in the heart of Kilkenny hurling country.

Flushed with success after the magical deeds of DJ Carey and Henry Shefflin, they demand perfection in these parts and Woods is just the man to meet their requirements.

He played his nine holes yesterday in an hour and 12 minutes, sweeping through a number of practice matches One of the highlights was when he hit a drive and iron onto the green at the 552-yard fifth. And he also finished in style, hitting his approach to the ninth to within three feet of the hole.

The crowd cheered enthusiastically but Tiger didn’t even bother to putt out, instead making his way to the

extreme end of the practice range where he spent 45 minutes going through every club in the bag.

After that, it was on to the practice chipping green where Darren Clarke and coach Pete Cowen were already ensconced.

A warm handshake followed between the two men who provided the memorable final of the World Match Play Championship in California in 2000 Woods was impressed with the course: “I was here in July and it’s a lot warmer now than it was then. The greens are a little faster and the rough a little higher and they were just growing in the fairway lines when I was here.

“Now the course is fantastic, as well conditioned as any in America. The greens are perfect and the fairways immaculate.”

One pressman, possibly interested in becoming Pat Ruddy’s public relations officer, mentioned Tiger had played the European Club links in Co Wicklow. Asked what he thought of it, Woods replied: “It was ... narrow.”

And then he was gone, cleverly evading the lines of screaming autograph hunters, mostly young but some old enough to have more sense, and working assiduously on his putting.

He might have had a sign around his neck emblazoned with the words “man at work”, so concentrated was he on what he was doing.

He will play the full 18 holes today and hopefully make the golf writers’ lot a happier one by coming to the media centre for an official interview.