As soon as you walked into Kingston Heath this morning, you could tell this was no ordinary tournament.

So many things jarred. The first thing you noticed was the three helicopters, hovering above a distant fairway. Then there were the pro golfers on the practice putting green, and out on the course - but no-one was following them. They were honing their games in a spectator vacuum, as if it was just another Tuesday morning at their home course.

Walking towards the gravid hum of the choppers, it became obvious what the fuss was about. As if we didn't know. A throng of people, maybe 3000 or 4000, were congregated around the pairing of Tiger Woods and Craig Parry, the world No.1 and the rotund Australian who had offered to act as his local tour guide for the day. They had teed off from the 10th shortly after eight o'clock and we caught up with them on the 12th, where the choppers hovered low.

Even by Woods standards of stardom, this was quite a show of support. Four thousand people out at 9.00am on a Tuesday? "I don't think I've ever seen that many people at a practice round before - maybe at a major, but never at a regular tournament," he was to say later. Of the close attention from the small squadron of TV helicopters, Woods was equally surprised: "I've never experienced that before either."

Woods seemed to have ironed out one or two glitches from his disappointing finish behind Phil Mickelson in Shanghai on Sunday. At the par-five 12th, he flew the bunkers in the middle of the fairway with a scorching drive, reached the green in two and made a comfortable birdie. On the 14th, another par five, he unleashed a driver straight down the middle, a good 80 metres past Parry's effort, and again made short work of a long hole.

The gallery grew with each hole, to perhaps 5000, and they stood five and six deep around some greens. Quaintly, they applauded Woods on to each tee and they groaned and clapped on each green as his practice putts finished close to the hole. But the heat was taking its toll, and Woods' luminous green Nike shirt was soaked through with sweat after barely an hour.

There were other signs that this was no ordinary practice day at an Australian tournament. Woods' long-time agent from IMG, Mark Steinberg, walked the fairways with him, occasionally talking on the phone. Another of Tiger's entourage wore what looked like snakeskin shoes. He might have been in charge of making Tiger's dinner booking.

Former British Open winner, and now US TV commentator, Ian Baker-Finch also walked with the group, apparently dispensing putting advice to Woods, which one wonders might have been a little unnecessary. This, after all, is the bloke who's generally regarded as the greatest clutch putter of all time. And, as usual, the Kiwi Steve Williams was lugging Tiger's bag around - and apparently enjoying the chance to catch up with two of his old Australasian Tour buddies, Baker-Finch and Parry.

A phalanx of security men, dressed in black and orange, patrolled the gallery ropes and made sure no-one stepped out of line. They needn't have fretted. The only thing Tiger was in danger of was being applauded to death.

At the 18th, Woods again took out his driver - for the fourth time in nine holes - and launched a monster over the left-hand traps which are normally a hazard for most players. But he cleared them comfortably, setting up a short pitch into the green.

But after that final hole, Tiger called it a day. His shirt soaked through, he and Parry sought shelter in the clubhouse, leaving thousands of fans wondering what to do with the rest of their day. It was not even 10.30am and the Tiger Woods Show was over.

But they should console themsleves with the thought they got as close to, and saw as much of, him as anyone will this week. Tomorrow is pro-am day, then the real thing begins on Thursday morning. By which time the pandemonium will have reached fever pitch.