Champions tournament: Tiger Woods found at least one spectator in the throng around him at the Champions tournament yesterday who could relate to being a multi-millionaire dominating his sport - Roger Federer.

Tennis world number one Federer, who is in Shanghai for next week's season-ending Masters Cup tournament, watched the last few holes of Woods's round before the pair chatted for more than five minutes in the clubhouse.

"Roger's a great guy and has become a really good friend. It's really special that he took some time out from his preparations to come down and watch me," Woods said after his opening round of 72.

Woods, who at 30 has already won 12 majors, said only the likes of Federer and basketball great Michael Jordan were able to share his experience of being the best player of their generation in a sport.

"It's not often that you can relate to someone about things that are going on but we can," the American said. "It's nice to pick his brains. I've been lucky to get to know Michael Jordan pretty well and it's good to find people you can talk to about preparations and distractions, about getting to the top and then moving forward."

Woods contrasted his "frustrating" level-par 72 yesterday with watching the 25-year-old Federer win his ninth grand slam at the US Open tennis tournament this year, an experience the Swiss said at the time had proved motivational.

"He played well, I slashed around a bit," said Woods of his first round of golf after a five-week break. Asked if Federer had helped him with any tips, Woods said: "Yes, I need to improve my backhand. I'd love to play golf with him, but I'd like to play tennis with him more," he added.

Woods skipped last week's PGA Tour Championship to "recharge his batteries" after a run of seven tournaments in nine weeks and a two-day trip to Ireland for Ryder Cup preparations.

"I needed it," he said. "It was a lot. I don't normally play that much golf."

Federer was not the only one following Woods around the course, and although there were still a number of mobile phone rings and camera clicks from the gallery, Woods thought it was an improvement on his first trip to the Sheshan International Golf Club.

"We had a few distractions," he said. "But it's good to see so many people out here watching golf. A lot of them aren't even golf fans and it's a new experience for them.

"It was a lot better than last year," he added.

World number one Woods finished seven shots off leader Jyoti Randhawa after a disappointing start where he hit a double bogey on the 11th, his second hole. Randhawa shot seven birdies in a bogey-free round to lead by one from Michael Campbell, Yang Yong-eun and Marc Warren.

Warren may have been sharing top spot but for an incident on the 15th, when his ball was reportedly stolen after he was unable to find his tee-shot.

Meanwhile, Order of Merit winner Padraig Harrington maintained his good form as he steadily climbed the leaderboard to finish at five under.

"Five-under is a good start," he said. "I find the course tough. So its important to get off to a good start and not be chasing and taking the wrong shot.

"The ball is releasing a lot on the greens. So five under, I can be a little more patient and take my time to attack."