Any notion that the AT&T National is a run-of-the-mill PGA Tour stop were dispelled Wednesday morning when a UH-1 Iroquois helicopter made a low-altitude flyover and a Screaming Eagles parachutist unfurled a huge American flag and landed gently on the first tee at Congressional Country Club.
“This doesn’t happen every day on the PGA Tour. I can guarantee that,” announced Fred Couples, before hitting a ceremonial first tee shot, using a ball that had been struck first by a U.S. soldier in Baghdad.
But judging from the field, the second annual AT&T doesn’t have the star-power to match the awe-inspiring ceremony. Tournament host Tiger Woods, of course, is out for the season after undergoing ACL reconstruction surgery last week and is not expected to appear.
But several other drawing cards — many of whom came last year — have chosen to skip this time. No. 22 Aaron Baddeley’s scratch leaves only six of the world’s top 30 players in the field. Why remains a mystery to those who are here.
“I have no idea,” said Stuart Appleby. “If Tiger puts his name on anything, it’s a success. I don’t know why you wouldn’t get more players here. You’ve got a quality golf course. We’re about to play here a few years from now as a major.”
Veteran Paul Goydos disagrees that the field is weak, saying the world rankings are populated by international players who are gearing up for the British Open, July 17-20. A better measure of strength of field, says Goydos, is the money list. Indeed, 13 of the PGA Tour’s top 25 earners are at Congressional.
“Going by the world rankings can be a tad askew,” said Goydos. “We have these arbitrary rankings and those are very good at identifying the best couple of players and the next 10, but are they good at identifying the next 90? In my opinion, no.”
So while fans at Congressional will not be able to see Tiger, Phil, Sergio, Ernie and Vijay, they will have a chance to discover emerging stars such as Anthony Kim, D.J. Trahan, Sean O’Hair, Jeff Quinney and Ryuji Imada along with familiar names — Fred Couples, Jim Furyk, Davis Love III, defending champion K.J. Choi and Masters champ Trevor Immelman.
Goydos sees a bright future for the National, especially if Woods gets more involved in courting players and selling the unique aspects of the tournament.
“The [course] is in great shape. I think the city is great,” said Goydos. “I’m standing on the 9th fairway and they played the National Anthem. I take my hat off to stop. Never had that happen before. Paratroopers are landing in the fairway, the Fourth of July, this tournament, at some point in time, will have the field it deserves.”
