Welcome To The Jungle
The editor recalls his first taste of Tiger-mania in the flesh, way back at the 2002 New Zealand Open.
Tiger Woods strode into the press centre cocooned in a heaving swarm of security personal, tournament officials and media minders, tucked himself into the top table and prepared to start paying back his $2 million appearance fee.
It’s the 2002 New Zealand Open at Paraparaumu Beach Golf Club, one of the southern hemisphere’s finest links 60km north of the capital Wellington, and my first experience of Tiger-mania in the flesh.
The general news reporters went to work. “What do you think of New Zealand?” one asked, somehow oblivious to the fact the then world No.1 hadn’t long since touched down in his private jet. “Could there a special Kiwi lady here for you?”
It was a cringe-worthy start to a crazy week which included a cyanide threat against the tournament, disgruntled punters faced with a whooping 850 percent surge in season ticket prices and Kiwi stars Michael Campbell, Craig Perks and Greg Turner angrily airing their contempt at suddenly being gazumped in the special treatment stakes by Woods.
The tension was ratcheted up when the American, enticed to Paraparaumu by local lad and then caddy Steve Williams, flirted with the cut. He thankfully survived the weekend and signed for an eventual share of sixth place.
It was such big news television even carried Woods’ arrival into Wellington live around the country, elevating the occasion to something akin to a royal visit.
Dubai does the Tiger circus with much less hysteria but his arrival for the 28th Desert Classic is still a giddy prospect.
Woods transcends golf and the payback for Dubai, with the Majlis and its futuristic cityscape backdrop being beamed around the globe, is unquantifiable. Aside from the general hacks coming out of the woodwork, offshore golf journalists now have the Desert Classic back on their schedules and are looking to review the likes of Trump’s new Dubai course to boot. There will be interest too in Tiger’s very own course under construction at the nearby Akoya Oxygen development. It’s an unexpected boon for golf tourism and the local industry that feeds from it.
Tiger will inevitably say he’s here to win but we’d happily take four twinge-free rounds and a few trademark fist-pumps to signal this comeback is not yet another false dawn.
The Tiger of old is never coming back but the Tiger of now is here and, as always, not to be missed. local scene Things have moved on from 2002 and so too is Golf Digest Middle East evolving. You’ll notice our local scene pages are more feature-focused this month. It’s the start of a fresh take on the region’s best players, tournaments and most influential characters.
Rest assured we’re as committed as ever to covering your big win in the monthly medal but this content now has a more immediate home on GolfDigestME.com in a new section we’re developing called the ‘Gulf Club’. We trust you’ll enjoy tagging friends and family around the globe into your success and sharing the magic of golfing the Middle East.