Woods makes flying visit

Tiger Woods is on another of his brief visits to Europe. This time for the £1.6m (€2.6m) Deutsche Bank-SAP Open in Heidelberg starting tomorrow.

The world number one is being paid a fortune again to cross the Atlantic to defend the title he took by four shots last year - after being 10 strokes behind Michael Campbell at halfway.

Such things are what European fans have almost come to expect. Golfers get used to the fact that they lose far more than they win, but in European tour-counting events Woods’ record since he turned professional in 1996 is simply staggering.

The 26-year-old has played 33 tournaments - and taken 15 of them. Compare that 45% success rate to some leading European stars.

Colin Montgomerie, leading money-winner for seven successive years from 1993 to 1999, has played in 331 Order of Merit events and won 26 of them - less than 8%.

Seve Ballesteros has lifted 50 out of 400 (12.5%), Bernhard Langer 41 out of 394 (10.4%), Nick Faldo 30 out of 325 (9.2%), Ian Woosnam 29 out of 415 (6.9%), Sandy Lyle 18 out of 347 (5.1%).

And Malcolm Mackenzie, winner of the French Open two weeks ago, one out of 510.

It is doubtful whether winning this weekend will mean as much to Woods as it did to Mackenzie in Paris, but the seven-major winner prides himself on giving his best.

This is Woods’ third trip to Heidelberg and he is trying to make it three victories worth more than £750,000 (€1,200,000).

Things might look the same on his arrival at the St Leon-Rot course, but while the first and 18th holes are the same the 16 in between are all new.

They were designed by Dave Thomas, whose other works include The Belfry, and were opened 18 months ago.

Woods’ other win was in 1999. He beat Retief Goosen by three then and they return now not just as the Masters and US Open champion respectively, but also the players who finished first and second at Augusta last month.

The American was also in the 2000 edition of the tournament. That was in Hamburg and he led with a round to play, but on that occasion found Lee Westwood too hot to handle.

Westwood fired a closing 64 and went on to end Montgomerie’s reign as European number one, but he has not won a single title since that wonderful season and needs to recapture form either this week or at next week’s Volvo PGA championship to make the field for the US Open next month.

John Daly, ninth in the Benson & Hedges International last Sunday and first and second on his last two visits to Germany, is also taking part, as are nine of Europe’s Ryder Cup team.