Tiger in tank: hole in one for golf tourism

He's not so much a golfer as a phenomenon, one of the greatest athletes of our age, a multicultural role model and cash register on legs.

But for all his mighty achievements Eldrick "Tiger" Woods still has a noticeable gap in his extraordinary resume.

He has never won in Australia.

Unlike Jack Nicklaus  whose record of 18 major victories Woods (14) appears destined to surpass, and other greats of world golf such as Gary Player and Greg Norman  Woods's record down under is unimpressive.

At his only outing in the Australian Open  at the Australian Golf Club in Sydney in 1996  Woods finished back of the pack as Norman won by eight shots. Woods's 1997 Australian Masters appearance, for which he was paid several hundred thousand dollars, yielded an equal eighth behind Australia's Peter Lonard at Huntingdale in Melbourne.

"I've always liked playing in Australia," Woods says in a 60 Minutes interview on Channel Nine tonight.

"I played there a few times previously, but I haven't been back in a while. Now the timing works."

As Woods, 33, paces around Kingston Heath, he will carry the hopes of Victoria tourism and events industries on his powerful shoulders.

Days before the American golfer  who has won 92 tournaments  hits off on Thursday, his appearance has already proved a massive success.

Thanks purely to Woods, who has described his background as "Cablinasian"  Caucasian, black, American Indian and Asian  the Australian Masters has for the first time been a 100,000-ticket sell-out. The $595-a-head Masters gala dinner at Crown is similarly sold out, and Goldman Sachs JB Were led a legion of companies keen to support the tournament that hitherto was struggling to find a naming sponsor.

The Nine Network has signed a two-year deal. The tournament will be broadcast internationally, creating a potential audience of about 380 million households.

The State Government is predicting Woods's visit will generate $19 million for the Victorian economy with 35 per cent of the 100,000 crowd coming from interstate and overseas.

It took an appearance fee of $3 million to lure Woods, a drop in the ocean for a man who Forbes magazine declared in September was the first athlete to earn more than $US1 billion ($1.1 billion), and who can expect to add another $US110 million or so to his kitty this year.

Woods rejected a $5 million Sydney offer to instead play in Melbourne.

The NSW Government's bid was part of a plan to steal Melbourne's crown as the nation's major events capital.

But Victoria outsmarted NSW to win the golf superstar in an operation called Project Eagle.

"It was never about the money. It was about the quality of the presentation and the greater vision for golf in this country," a source said.

Victoria hatched its plan led by Victorian Major Events Company to lure Woods as early as 2007. It included meetings with Woods and his management team at last year's US Masters and British Open.

An information pack was presented to Woods spruiking Melbourne's sandbelt golf courses and the city's appeal to world visitors.

Victorian Premier John Brumby, who wrote a letter of invitation to Woods, supported the bid after watching the superstar win last year's US Open.

Victoria Events Industry Council's chairman, Peter Jones, said Woods's appearance would kickstart a new era of golf tourism, drawing affluent golfers from all over the world to Melbourne's championship courses and to impressive courses on the Mornington and Bellarine peninsulas.

"The drawing power of the man is amazing," Mr Jones said.

"I know there was a kerfuffle when the $3 million fee was announced, but he will more than pay his own way. It's a coup for Melbourne. When he's out there everyone watching will know he's in Melbourne, and the only place he's playing in Australia is Melbourne."