Here comes Tiger
The Age
Monday November 9, 2009
THE first time Tiger Woods played in an Australian Masters was in 1997 as a 21-year-old, when not only did he do so for an appearance fee of $300,000 (small change compared with the $US3 million he is getting this time) but he turned up late suffering from jetlag after his flight was delayed for nine hours in Thailand. No chance of that happening this time when the world's greatest golfer jets into Melbourne today for his much-awaited Masters appearance at Kingston Heath. Yep, no boring old first-class seat on an international flight for him €” his mode of transport this time will be his own privately leased plane, a multimillion-dollar NetJet. When you earn the sort of money he does €” he raked in $130 million last year alone €” you can afford to travel any way you want but for Tiger it's not just for luxury and comfort alone. It's also to ensure he has some privacy. "If you've seen me at a golf tournament, you know how big a crowd I attract," said Woods once (in his pre-private jet days). "It's the same way at an airport. And, once I get to my seat on the plane, there's no way I can sleep because people are always wanting autographs." So that's his privacy accounted for €” but what about once on board? We can't say for sure what Tiger ate and drank on his way to Melbourne but we can tell you, he's pretty fussy. Those close to the champ say he likes to drink Evian €” chilled, of course €” and that the caterers are required to be very careful what they give him to eat. Prepared on a recent trip before Woods boarded a NetJet flight, the memo handed to the airline crew included a "critical note" for attendants about him being allergic to garlic and a reference about his preference for bagels with peanut butter and sliced banana.SO what else can we tell you about Tiger? Many of the tournament's other stars will stay at the Langham Hotel in the city but nobody is disclosing where he will be. "I can't get into where he's staying just for the issues about security. It's something that we just can't disclose," said David Rollo, director of golf for IMG Australia.IT has been suggested around the traps (the sand ones, that is) that several members of Kingston Heath have offered tournament organisers up to $250,000 just to play a round with Woods.CONFIRMED yesterday to be teeing off in Wednesday's pro-am are Cricket Australia boss James Sutherland and Nine sports commentator Mark Nicholas.SHANE Warne, who plays off a handicap of six, is also said to be in the pro-am mix.THERE was speculation yesterday that Woods would get a personal rundown on Kingston Heath from 1991 British Open champion Ian Baker-Finch, who rates the course as his personal Australian favourite.CHANNEL Nine shelled out $1.5 million for the rights to broadcast the Masters this year and next and such has been the overwhelming response from advertisers, for this week's Tiger-led event alone, that the network confirmed yesterday it was already boasting a profit on its investment.What Tiger asks for, Tiger gets . . .– 12 one-litre bottles of Evian.– Cranberry juice and ginger ale.– Trident gum (spearmint and peppermint).– Newsweek magazine.– Deck of playing cards (the champ occasionally likes to relax with a game).– Selection of movies (his preference is for action/adventure/mystery films).– Bag of sugar-free candy and cough drops.– Honey and lemon for tea.– Bunch of bananas.– Grilled chicken breasts over greens.– Bottle of Paul Newman balsamic vinaigrette (when salad is requested).
© 2009 The Age
