Despite the best efforts of those trained to track down the likes of Tom Cruise and Britney Spears, the world's most recognised sportsman gave them barely a glimpse yesterday. From the moment his private jet touched down at Essendon Airport in the morning and he was whisked away by car to Crown Casino, Tiger Woods's plans were top secret.

We know Woods went to Crown because the three media helicopters tracking his car told us so.

But even those charged with promoting this week's Australian Masters at Kingston Heath, to which he will drag sell-out crowds of 20,000 a day, professed to know nothing of his schedule.

Instead they were busying themselves in frantic preparation for something that is beginning to look like a heads-of-state summit.

The media are being segregated into A and B groups and there were plans to allow photographers, who normally walk inside the crowd ropes, access only on a roster system.

Such treatment was not impressing people used to covering such major sporting events as the Olympic Games and Wimbledon close up.

Those in charge have clearly taken Woods's attendance to be an event which requires over-the-top security.

The Kingston Heath clubhouse has been ruled out-of-bounds except to members and there is an air of tension in the media tent.

Woods is to make his first appearance at the course this morning, probably to play a practice round.

At noon, the world No1 will sit down in front of a press contingent roughly 10 times larger than that which normally appears at a top tier Australian event.

Even then its number will be curtailed because some media will have to make way in the press conference room for Victorian Premier John Brumby and his entourage, along with the contingent of those who manage Woods.

Some of them were locked in a serious long-distance email conversation yesterday which involved relaying many of the contentious questions Woods is likely to face from the apparently aggressive Australian media pack.