Gold prodigy Tiger Woods watches his tee shot during a Skins golf competition at the Jeju Raon Golf Club in Jeju, Sunday. Scotland's Colin Montgomerie held off Woods to win the competition on Sunday. Tiger Woods in Korea

Woods was in his jeans and shirt when he got off his Gulf Stream IV personal plane Friday night. The official offered to carry his bags but he declined with great civility. When arriving at the royal suite at Lotte Hotel, which costs about W5.8 million a day, he separated his things like his clothes on his own, placing them into plastic bags. One bag was for tournament use, and the other for everyday use. Of course, he took care of his laundry himself, too, sorting it out himself and leaving it with the hotel.

An official from IMG, the sports marketing company in charge of Wood’s visit, tried to explain to him about the time lag so that he could call his wife (Elin Nordegren), he answered, “I’ve already calculated it,” and said, “I will call her at the right time.” Woods was more than impressed when he saw the hotel had inscribed his and his wife’s name on the bed sheets.

At the press conference, he greeted Korean fans with his usual sense of humor. After the conference, he went back to his room and had a T-bone steak and broccoli. “Eat well to play well” is his motto. Woods said he loved broccoli.

Woods went to bed after eleven, and visited the hotel gym at five in the morning Saturday. Because it was so early, only two bodyguards were with him. This is his exercise routine, wherever he is, and he never misses a day.

After finishing the 9th hole, he saw two rocks in front the Raon GC clubhouse; one shaped like a penis entering the other, a circular-shaped one. When one of his companions joked that touching the rock would allow newlywed husbands to produce many children, he smiled bashfully.

At the ceremony held the night before the tournament at the Lotte Hotel, too, Woods was restricted somewhat by body guards, but he quite comfortably mixed with fans, taking his picture with them. Even when he encountered situations hard to accept for many Americans, he accepted them with ease. When one of the participants offered a tangerine, he didn’t coldly refuse, but took one with a polite, “Thank you.” When he received one of Jeju Island’s traditional “grandfather rocks” (Korean: dol harubang) as a gift, he joked to Colin Montgomerie, “Doesn’t it look like that phallic rock we saw in front of the clubhouse yesterday?”

Woods showed great interest in the Korean golf situation, asking officials questions every chance he got. Upon hearing that in Korea, the LPGA tour was more popular than the PGA tour, he said, “KJ Choi (Choi Kyung-ju) has done wondrously well in the PGA tour,” and added, “Hopefully, his achievements are not underrated here.”

Choi Kyung-ju said at an interview previous to the tournament, “Tiger Woods’ best asset is his humble personality, which is as great as his golf skill... He was the greatest gentleman before becoming a star.”

Woods departed windy Jeju Island, leaving behind warm feelings.

(englishnews@chosun.com )