Regardless of who played it, when they played it, where they played it, or what they called it, one thing remained constant about Washington D.C.’s stop on the PGA Tour — the area’s support for its star-crossed event.
But as local golf fans discovered last year, their unconditional love was not enough to sustain a big-money PGA tournament as they witnessed the demise of the Booz Allen Classic after 27 years.
One summer later, however, the PGA has returned to Washington with an event whose enormous promise can be summed up in two words — Tiger Woods.
Thursday at Congressional Country Club, when the AT&T National makes its debut, it will be the birth of a tournament that guarantees more stars, more exposure and more stability than its predecessor. Most of all, it guarantees the best player in the world.
Woods will host the tournament, which benefits his charitable foundation, and emphasizes the overlapping themes of July 4, the Nation’s Capital and the Armed Forces. Woods’ beloved father, Earl, who died early last year, was a U.S. Army infantry officer, an elite Green Beret in Vietnam.
“This is a dream come true for myself,” said Woods. “When I first came on tour and we started our foundation in 1997, my focus and goal one day with my father was to be able to host an event on the PGA Tour.”
The opportunity arose in February with the termination of the International, a longtime PGA event in Colorado that failed to find a sponsor. In less than a month, the AT&T National was hatched.
With Woods’ name attached to it, the event has an opportunity to join a handful of tournaments — The Players, Pebble Beach, the Memorial (Jack Nicklaus) and Bay Hill (Arnold Palmer) — which rank just below the majors in visibility and prestige.
Despite its short gestation period, the National has drawn an elite field. The world’s top four players — Woods, Phil Mickelson, Jim Furyk, and Adam Scott — will be joined by No. 6 Vijay Singh.
Other drawing cards in the field of 120 are Stuart Appleby, Aaron Baddeley, Chris DiMarco, Charles Howell III, Davis Love III, Justin Leonard, Geoff Ogilvy and Mike Weir, as well as local favorites Fred Funk (High Point), Steve Marino (W.T. Woodson) and Olin Browne (St. Albans).
The man that most will come to see, however, is Woods, who played in the 1997 U.S. Open at Congressional and the President’s Cup in 2000 and 2005 at Robert Trent Jones in Gainesville. But in his 10 years on the tour, Woods never played in the Kemper/FBR/Booz Allen.
AT&T NATIONAL
When » Thursday-Sunday.
Where » Congressional Country Club, Bethesda.
Purse » $6 million; $1.08 million to winner.
Tickets » $20 per day Tuesday-Friday; $25 Saturday-Sunday. $65 for weekly gallery pass. Active duty military personnel and children 12-and-under will be admitted free. Call 1-800-594-TIXX.
Parking » No public parking on site. Shuttle bus service will be available at several nearby lots in the area including Montgomery County Fairgrounds (Gaithersburg), Booz Allen Headquarters (McLean), Sam Eig Highway (Germantown), Fernwood Road (Bethesda).
Will you be attending the AT&T National this week? Respond below in our comment section.
