Thousands of fans lined fairways and TV network helicopters circled overhead as Tiger Woods played his first round of golf in Australia in 11 years Tuesday.

Woods joined Australian veteran Craig Parry for a practice round at the Kingston Heath course near Melbourne, site of this week's Australian Masters. The tournament will be Woods' fourth in Australia but his first since the 1998 Presidents Cup.

"Is it normal? Trust me, it's not," Woods told a news conference, which was broadcast live around the country. "Thank God it's not normal!"

Woods also played the 1996 Australian Open and 1997 Australian Masters but has yet to win in Australia.

He is being paid almost $3 million in fees for his one-off appearance, but his presence caused tickets to the tournament to sell out within minutes.

Woods landed in Australia Monday in his private jet, flying from Shanghai where he finished sixth at the WGC event during the weekend. His accommodation arrangements and movements while in Australia have been kept a closely guarded secret.

Some of the fans on the course complained that the whirring of the helicopters was so loud they couldn't hear Woods connecting with the ball.

"I've never experienced that before," he said of the helicopters. "They were definitely overhead, but they weren't interfering with play." Continued...