Tiger Woods may not have had the best of starts to the new season – failing to make the third-round cut at Torrey Pines followed by a tied 42nd place in last week’s Dubai Desert Classic – but that obviously makes no difference to his massive appeal with the fans.
After finishing in Dubai, Woods flew down to Delhi for his first ever visit to India. It was supposed to be a private trip to play a round of golf with Pawan Munjal, owner of Hero Motorcycles and one of the biggest patrons of professional golf in the country, and a few of his select guests.
The round was meant to be closed to media and general fans. Only members of the historic Delhi Golf Club were allowed, and only if they carried their membership cards.
Well… that was never going to work. Once it was public knowledge that Woods was coming, more than 5,000 fans turned up and made their way to the club to watch the world No1.
Even the media managed to find a way in. It was a security nightmare, but one man who really enjoyed it to the hilt, was Woods.
Those who witnessed the round said it was a completely different Woods, interacting with the crowd and even exchanging high-fives after hitting good shots. And there were plenty of good shots as he made 10 birdies in the 18 holes, and finished the round with a nine-under par score.
And yet, Woods and Munjal lost a three-hole skins game to two of India’s best young talents – European Tour regular Shiv Kapur and the highest ranked Indian in the world, Anirban Lahiri.
Woods, who also met the cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar during the trip, said the Delhi Golf Course was the narrowest course he has played on, and promised to go back soon for a longer visit.
The one unfortunate part of the visit was that there were many excited junior players who wanted to watch Woods in action, but could not get access. Hopefully, Woods will ensure that is taken care of when he is there next.
When numbers boggle
The Waste Management Phoenix Open at TPC Scottsdale is a tournament that never ceases to amaze. The tournament continues to set new records of attendance in professional golf, and the par-3 16th hole remains the noisiest hole in the world.
Obviously, the most interesting number from last week’s tournament was that as many 563,008 fans watched the four days of action. That was a new record, despite fears that fans may not turn up because of the presence of only one top-10 ranked player in the field – Phil Mickelson – and the new stringent security measures imposed by the PGA Tour from this year.
The 16th hole continued to be a favourite with the fans. During the weekends, the 20,000 seats were taken up by 8am, even though the first group was only expected to reach the hole more than 90 minutes later.
There was another interesting number which came up – Kevin Stadler won the tournament with a score of 16-under par. He had the same score last year, and yet lost to champion Phil Mickelson by a staggering 12 shots. Mickelson had won the tournament last year with a score of 28-under par.
