Golf: Full circle for Tiger

Tiger Woods may have been teeing off on a different course in Melbourne yesterday but he would not be human if the memories of last year's Australian Masters did not come flooding back.

And if 12 months of torrid revelation have proven anything, it is that this once untainted icon is most definitely human.

It was during this tournament 12 months ago when the net began to close in on his private life and it was at this tournament 12 months ago where he won his last title.

Of course, the world and his mistresses now know the two events were incontrovertibly connected. That week an attractive Manhattan nightclub manager had been tracked by the National Enquirer all the way from the US to the same Australian penthouse as Woods and a fortnight later the recriminations of an impending expose led to an early-hour crash outside his Florida home.

Much will be made of the November 28 "fire hydrant" anniversary, but the dominoes began to fall in the Crown Casino Hotel.

Which makes Woods' reappearance Downunder that bit more fascinating to the outside audience than it was last year, particularly as he has chosen, somewhat brazenly, to stay at the same establishment.

IMG promoters of the tournament - who just happen to be Woods' management company - have not sought to flog his notoriety. Things have changed for Woods - his world ranking (No 2), his marital status (single) and his yearly pay packet (about US$40 million lighter). But at least two things remain the same. Woods still charges US$3 million to play in events outside the US. And he is still desperate to win.

As ever with the new Tiger, the off-course requires analysis before the on-course. His return to the revered Melbourne sandbelt has been marred by controversy as opposition MPs have harangued the Victoria State Government for paying half of the appearance fee.

The argument of the ruling Labor Party is simple. Last year the Woods investment reaped more than US$34 million as he enticed more than 100,000 people through the turnstiles and many international visitors to the area.

Woods is not just asked to play golf for his fee; he must also sing for his caviar supper. As part of the contractual agreements he was required to attend Tuesday's gala dinner - held at, yes, the Crown Casino - and feature in a Q&A session with the Australian cricketer Shane Warne and the British television presenter Mark Nicholas.

Alas, Woods couldn't use the same excuse to leave early as he did last year. "I need a good night's sleep," he had said. With Ms Rachel Uchitel's whereabouts that week now public knowledge, he wouldn't have dared.

There is plenty to focus Woods' sporting mind. It would be incredible to think of him as not being the defending champion somewhere on the planet, but should he come up short on Sunday, just as he has 13 times since this event last year, he will not have won in a whole year.

"Hopefully, that doesn't happen," said the 34-year-old. "I'm going to go out there and try to make sure I give myself every opportunity to win."

He is certain all that range-time is paying off and a top-10 performance at the WGC-HSBC in Shanghai last week sent him out in the first round talking confidently; perhaps more confidently than he has so far this year.

"I think I've got a pretty good chance of winning this event if I play the way I know I can play," he said.

Yet it won't be achieved the way he played when he was last in the Garden State - it can't be, he has changed too much. The downfall saw Woods become so distraught with his form that, after being dumped by long-time coach Hank Haney, he turned to a young swing guru called Sean Foley who advocated a complete overhaul. Woods admitted for the first time this week that here was one radical lifestyle alteration he was not so keen to make.

"At the [US] PGA Championship [in August], every night I was trying to figure out, 'Should I actually do this or not?' Because I know [how big] an undertaking it is," he said.

He did, and a victory this week would at least go part of the way to vindicating that decision. But it would be bigger than that. This time last year he made negative headlines for throwing a driver in a pique of anger, but won his seventh title of the year anyway.

Life was so simple then. Winning solved everything. Now it would serve as a neat and apt way to close the most incredible and damaging chapter of his career.

- Independent