Golfers aim to tame Tiger

Boris Becker and Tiger Woods played a round together in Hamburg

Europe's top golfers are aiming to tame Tiger Woods who has flown over the Atlantic Ocean to defend his Hamburg title.

Woods has flown in specially to defend the Deutsche Bank-SAP Open which starts on Thursday and he is in great form.

The tournament offers a staggering £269,000 to the winner.

But during practice games on Wednesday there was a slightly shambolic feel to the start of the event.

After a torrential downpour the German crowd trooped through the puddles to the first tee to see Woods tee off with Boris Becker - only Becker was not there.

Montgomerie is hoping for Hamburg success

While Woods, with his usual entourage of bodyguards, set off without the former Wimbledon champion, Becker was in the clubhouse thinking he had time to kill before his big date.

It was only after Colin Montgomerie, playing in the match behind, had hit off as well that Becker arrived and, when asking where Woods was, someone pointed over the horizon.

They did eventually team up.

Montgomerie said: "It does not feel like a big event at the moment but it will tomorrow."

The presence of eight of the world's top 20 - Woods, Montgomerie, Jesper Parnevik, Nick Price, Lee Westwood, Darren Clarke, Sergio Garcia and Miguel Angel Jimenez - makes it one of the strongest fields ever gathered in Europe outside the Open.

Ever since I started playing the game I've always figured there is no point showing up at a tournament if you don't think you can win

Tiger Woods

But even though it is also the first time since Boston last September that the entire European Ryder Cup side are together, Woods is far and away the main attraction.

After his first round Woods - reportedly being paid a million US dollars to defend the crown - and some of the other stars are scheduled to hit balls from the roof of one downtown building onto a specially-constructed green 140 yards away on another roof across the street.

But the American never comes anywhere just for such gimmicks.

After four weeks off he finished last week's Byron Nelson Classic in Texas with a 63 to just miss out on the play-off won by Parnevik against Davis Love and Phil Mickelson.

Dividends

Woods is on countdown now to next month's US Open at Pebble Beach and reminding Europe's finest just how good he has become could serve useful dividends for him in California.

Asked if he expected to win every time he plays the 24-year-old - with 24 wins in 84 starts as a professional so far - answered: "Yeah. Ever since I started playing the game I've always figured there is no point showing up at a tournament if you don't think you can win."

Montgomerie has taken steps to try to topple Woods for the first time - something, of course, in which he is not alone.

Two weeks ago he changed his putter, this week it is his irons and the Scot was on Wednesday deciding whether to introduce the most controversial club in golf as well.

For the last three weeks Montgomerie has been practising with the Callaway ERC driver banned in North America, but legal in the rest of the world.

"I've been testing it on the range, but that's all well and good. The course is a very different place."

Padraig Harrington also plays - with two objectives.

Play well and avoid the aberration which saw him forget to sign his first-round card last week at the Benson and Hedges International at The Belfry.

Three days later, by which time he was five shots clear, the error was spotted and he was disqualified.