Large crowds follow Tiger in Melbourne

Tiger Woods only played the back nine at Kingston Heath this morning and, afterwards, wasn’t letting on whether that was all he needed or all he could cope with in conditions that were “hot as hell”.

A gallery of around 7000 shadowed Woods and playing partner Craig Parry during the practice round, and there was a collective groan when the world number one retired early to the sanctuary of the clubhouse, his lime green shirt saturated with sweat from temperatures which soared into the mid-30s by mid-morning in Melbourne.