Back in business: Woods practices at Augusta yesterdayWhen the gates open at Augusta National they will reveal a humbled and humiliated Tiger Woods, who will mark his return to the game by interacting with galleries for the first time in his career.
Those are the startling thoughts of former US Ryder Cup captain Paul Azinger, who believes this second phase of Woods's professional life begins at the Masters with the biggest challenge he will ever face
'Tiger has always been like an actor who plays a part when he gets to the course and particularly on Sundays, with his black pants and red shirt,' he said. 'This time I think we're going to see a different Tiger, because of all the distractions. There will be chitchat. We're going to see a humbled and humiliated Tiger, and I think he's going to be accessible to the crowd.'
Whether Azinger is right we will find out shortly, but on one count he is definitely bang on the money. There will be distractions, and that's even before Woods teams up with Fred Couples in practice this morning and faces a gallery for the first time in 129 days since his fateful accident last Thanksgiving.
Outside the gates on Washington Road, more television crews are lined up than would ever be allowed inside these hallowed grounds. The rumour is that Woods requested accommodation in one of the cabins inside Augusta that are always reserved for the competing amateurs. Whatever the truth of that - only Augusta National rivals Woods when it comes to refusing comment - he isn't staying in one, leaving one of those charming paparazzi types to positively salivate when interviewed on American television yesterday.
'Wherever he is staying, believe me, we will find him,' he said. 'We will do whatever it takes.'
TMZ, the website that broke many of the more salacious stories about Woods, have rented a house and supposedly bought a ticket on the black market for one of his harem. Then, when Woods has run all those gauntlets, this afternoon he will give his first news conference since the scandal broke.
To think, this time last year, the Masters press chairman approached a few of us to ask whether there was anything they could do to keep numbers up among the written media.
He knows the answer now. Registering at reception, I was given my little golden ticket to Woods's press conference and told not to lose it if I held any hope of attending. Normally, we wander into these things about the same time as the arriving player, and the 120-seat room is rarely more than half-full. Today, the doors will open on the allticket affair 45 minutes before the start and close 10 minutes before Tiger enters.
Woods played the back nine yesterday in the company of his long-time friend, Mark O'Meara. They hadn't seen each other since the scandal broke and embraced warmly.
Reporters are not allowed on the course on Sunday, so the half-dozen of us who had gathered were permitted to see just the two three-wood shots he played from the 10th tee.
source: dailymail
