AUGUSTA, Georgia // Tiger Woods made a quiet return to Augusta National to complete a weekend of practice for the Masters, minus the media crush trying to document his every move.
It was far different from last year.
Woods has been away from golf for nearly five months while coping with the crisis in his personal life. His arrival at Augusta on the Sunday before tournament week was the first time the media had seen him on the golf course since Australia the previous November.
This time, he was one of several players soaking up a warm, peaceful afternoon with no fans on the property and no media allowed on the golf course except in the area near the first and 10th tees, and ninth and 18th greens.
He played with Masters rookie Jeff Overton, and Rory Sabbatini joined them.
Missing from the group was caddie Steve Williams, who was home in New Zealand. Williams was not due to arrive until Monday evening, so his boss used an Augusta National caddie for his two practice rounds on the weekend.
Woods was not expected to be back on the course until Tuesday morning.
It is a different routine for the four-time Masters champion, although so much in his life has changed. His divorce was finalised last August, a week after the final major of the year. Woods and his ex-wife, Elin, share parenting of their two children.
Then again, the weekend practice is becoming more common.
Practice rounds for the majors can take so long during tournament week that more players are preparing on the weekend, when there are fewer players on the course.
Former US Open champion Geoff Ogilvy arrived Friday night and had two days of practice. KJ Choi, who missed the cut in Houston, played with US Amateur Public Links champion Lion Kim. Tom Watson and Ben Crenshaw took advantage of privileges afforded only Masters champions - they each played with a guest.
Most of the players were gone by late afternoon, with no one in the clubhouse to watch defending champion Phil Mickelson win the Houston Open. That was sure to make him the top favorite at a Masters that had been lacking one.
Mickelson moves to No 3 in the world with his win, which ended hopes of Europe having the top five players in the world ranking when the Masters begins. Martin Kaymer and Lee Westwood remain at the top, with Graeme McDowell and Paul Casey at Nos 4 and 5.
Woods will fall to No 7, the lowest his ranking has been since he was No 13 going into the 1997 Masters, which he won by 12 shots.
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Key changes
Commission caps
For life insurance products with a savings component, Peter Hodgins of Clyde & Co said different caps apply to the saving and protection elements:
• For the saving component, a cap of 4.5 per cent of the annualised premium per year (which may not exceed 90 per cent of the annualised premium over the policy term).
• On the protection component, there is a cap of 10 per cent of the annualised premium per year (which may not exceed 160 per cent of the annualised premium over the policy term).
• Indemnity commission, the amount of commission that can be advanced to a product salesperson, can be 50 per cent of the annualised premium for the first year or 50 per cent of the total commissions on the policy calculated.
• The remaining commission after deduction of the indemnity commission is paid equally over the premium payment term.
• For pure protection products, which only offer a life insurance component, the maximum commission will be 10 per cent of the annualised premium multiplied by the length of the policy in years.
Disclosure
Customers must now be provided with a full illustration of the product they are buying to ensure they understand the potential returns on savings products as well as the effects of any charges. There is also a “free-look” period of 30 days, where insurers must provide a full refund if the buyer wishes to cancel the policy.
“The illustration should provide for at least two scenarios to illustrate the performance of the product,” said Mr Hodgins. “All illustrations are required to be signed by the customer.”
Another illustration must outline surrender charges to ensure they understand the costs of exiting a fixed-term product early.
Illustrations must also be kept updatedand insurers must provide information on the top five investment funds available annually, including at least five years' performance data.
“This may be segregated based on the risk appetite of the customer (in which case, the top five funds for each segment must be provided),” said Mr Hodgins.
Product providers must also disclose the ratio of protection benefit to savings benefits. If a protection benefit ratio is less than 10 per cent "the product must carry a warning stating that it has limited or no protection benefit" Mr Hodgins added.
MATCH INFO
What: India v Afghanistan, first Test
When: Starts Thursday
Where: M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengalaru
