"I know that people will want to see Tiger, the number one in the world [Luke Donald] and Rory McIlroy, so that's a great group to watch.
"And I think that [Lee] Westwood, Sergio [Garcia] and me, we are a little bit under the radar, which is fine by me.
"It always adds a little bit if Tiger Woods is here."
The Europeans - Donald, Westwood, McIlroy and Kaymer - currently fill, in that order, the top four positions in the world ranking and they are acutely aware of all the talk that Woods is back to full fitness and set to win big again.
But while there is general agreement that his return is good for the game, the sense of awe that used to paralyse his rivals has long gone.
At 22, McIlroy for one believes that the time two years ago when he felt nervous just teeing off with Woods is a thing of the past.
"The first time you play with him - you've watched this guy on TV your whole life, winning majors and doing things that no one thought was possible - so you are going to be awestruck," he said.
"I suppose once I got to spend a little time with him and maybe have lunch with him a few times and everything, you can sort of break the barrier down a little bit and it's fine from there.
"I feel quite comfortable being around him."
Woods himself is reticent about his goals for this year, restricting himself to stock answers of working on his swing changes and getting a few wins under his belt.
But with his fitness apparently restored and the furore over his personal life that beset him last year diminished, Woods sounds fully engaged.
"I played really well in my last three events, so I'm really looking forward to this year and continuing to build on what we have done towards the end of last year for sure," he said.
- AAP
