SHANGHAI, China - Tiger Woods found at least one spectator in the throng around him at the HSBC Champions tournament on Thursday 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 the Woods' 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 told reporters.

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 on Thursday with watching the 25-year-old Federer win his ninth grand slam at the U.S. Open tennis this year, an experience the Swiss said at the time had proved motivational.

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“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.”

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Federer was not the only one following Woods around the course on Thursday 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.