For all his success in growing the game, Tiger Woods once learned that even his star power had its limits when a plan to conquer Australia backfired. It cost Australian taxpayers $3 million for a Tiger Woods experiment that, according to one golf legend, ‘changed nothing.’

Taking a stroll down memory lane, Woods decided to take some taxpayer-funded visits to the land Down Under back in 2009-12. The reason? To revive Australia’s struggling golf scene. With the attention that Woods can generate, hordes of fans flocked to the golf courses to catch a glimpse of the legend. Across three years, Woods’ visits to Sydney and Melbourne witnessed unprecedented levels of crowd engagement. Something the Australian golfing community hadn’t seen since Greg Norman was dominating the field in his prime. 

Unfortunately, Woods’ venture to bring back interest in golf in Australia turned out to be a huge flop. Speaking to Reuters in a 2012 interview, five-time British Open champion Peter Thompson explained how the scenario was quite a stalemate. “I think Tiger Woods’s impact was minimal barring the few days he was here,” Thompson said. “It cost heavily and it changed nothing, fundamentally. The tour still struggles to attract top players because we can’t afford the appearance fees.” 

The appearance fee demanded by the American maestro was a whopping $3 million. And with Woods now gone, the crowds, too, have become quite sparse. For example, the 2012 Australian Masters was headlined by local star Adam Scott and Ian Poulter, the star from the Ryder Cup.

And sure enough, things looked pretty somber with the decrease in crowd turnout. Adding further context to the sorry state of affairs Down Under, Australian PGA CEO of 2012, Brian Thouburn, stated, “From an international perspective, on an annual basis we’re not going to get eight to 10 world top 20 ranked players down here. The competitive forces and opportunities in Asia and elsewhere and the long distance mean that it’s just impractical,” said Thouburn.

While Woods’ financial impact in the 2010s was debated, his on-course struggles in Australia began much earlier, with a shocking debut back in 1996 that humbled the future legend.

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How Tiger Woods was shocked after his first round in Australia

The Australian PGA Championships and Australian Open are waiting to unfold on the soil of ‘Oz’. At the beginning of December, golf fans would witness Rory McIlroy tee off for the Australian Open, and on the other hand, names like Joaquin Niemann, Min Woo Lee, Adam Scott, and Cameron Smith would headline the American PGA Championships. But behind these updates, a new story has been revealed. 

While the Aussie courses have indeed thrown challenges at the American legend, Woods has masterfully handled them all to create a strong record on Australian soil. But recently, Greg Norman has revealed why his Australian Open debut back in 1996 left him ‘shocked’. 

Woods’ beginning shots in the Australian Open were a disaster. The first round saw him go seven over par 79. And the tournament ended for him at four over par, which indeed was a shocking result for Woods. And while the Australian Golf Club in Sydney kept on throwing challenges, Woods managed to end the event at T5. 

Reflecting on what a toll it took on Woods, Norman shared, “We play very difficult courses here. [Woods] got a shock when he shot 79. Perhaps he will appreciate why Australians play so well when they leave home.” Woods was already struggling to pull off his best form as he was suffering from an illness.

Sharing the update on the same, Woods later shared after the tournament, “I could not get anything positive going. Physically and mentally, I made a lot of mistakes, and when you do that, you usually don’t win. I spent most of the time in bed, trying to get better (from a cold).” Woods further added how the week was extremely tough for him, and finally when the weather turned brighter, he felt as if he was “back in America.”