Tiger Woods hits ball from Europe to Asia, across the Bosporus

Tiger Woods has endured his troubles with water this year, but in becoming the first golfer to hit a ball from Europe to Asia on Tuesday, the Bosporus proved no problem for the world No1. He did have the 1,640-yard gravity-anchored suspension bridge to help his Nike ball across from the neighbourhood of Ortakoy to the Beylerbeyi shoreline, and the fact that the police agreed to stop the notorious Istanbul traffic for 30 minutes also assisted.

Woods is one of the few who could bring that seething metropolis to a standstill and, with this spectacular stunt, the 14-time major winner repaid the first instalment of the pounds 1.75?million fee he is receiving for playing in the Turkish Airlines Open, which begins in Belek tomorrow. "To be the first golfer to do this was very cool," Woods said. "To see the Bosporus for the first time was a memorable experience."

This is Woods's second appearance here and the organisers are certain his presence represents good value as the Turks attempt to raise the profile of golf in the country. Ahmet Ali Aoaoolu, the Turkish Golf Federation's president, is a big fan. "Tiger brings much more than golf; he is a superstar in many other ways," he said. "We know he costs money, but we believe it is well spent because he does all the -off-course stuff with the same class."