Only a modest crowd of around 250 turned out to follow Tiger Woods during his pro-am round at the Australian Open in Sydney on Wednesday.
Two years ago, when Woods was the world number one, 15,000 fans came to watch him play a practice round ahead of the 2009 Australian Masters.
Back then, fans complained that news helicopters hovering over Kingston Heath in Melbourne were distracting them, as Woods' appearance threatened to turn the tournament into a circus
Tiger justified the hype by winning that week but since then his world has turned upside down. Soon after his return home, the sex scandal broke that led to the collapse of his marriage while his form has also suffered after a string of injuries.
No-one could have guessed at the time but Tiger hasn't won again since, has slipped to number 58 in the world and no longer, it seems, is the drawcard he once was.
However, while the Aussie crowds don't appear as excited, local star Jason Day can't wait to play alongside 35-year-old Woods for the first time.
The 23-year-old, who was runner-up at both The Masters and US Open earlier this year, will tee off with Woods and Robert Allenby in the afternoon wave on Thursday.
Speaking of his boyhood hero, Day said: "I read a book about Tiger and that is why I woke up every morning at 5.30 and went out and practiced
"I got up to 32½ hours a week of practice because of that guy. He has influenced my life a lot, and I have always wanted to play against him."
Asked if he might feel intimidated, Day responded: "No, I don't think so. I can't control what he does. All I can do is control what I do. Looking back, 1997 to 2008 or 2009, he dominated for so long. When he came in he changed the way everyone looked at golf."
Fellow Aussie, Adam Scott, who will line up with Day in the following week's Presidents Cup, offered some advice to his younger compatriot.
"I never watched him hit a shot," Scott said. "My coach Butch Harmon told me early on when he was still working with him, if you played with him you should not watch him hit a shot because in the early 2000s his golf ball was launching far faster than anyone else.
"We all saw the magnificent highlight reels he's got. It was better not to watch and feel like you can't match it."
Looking at the stats, Day has nothing to fear on that front. The 2011 figures show that the young Aussie hits it longer and straighter than Woods and, perhaps most crucially, holes far more putts.
