AT&T National
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| Tournament information | |
|---|---|
| Location | Bethesda, Maryland, U.S. |
| Established | 2007 |
| Course(s) | Congressional Country Club Blue Course (2007–09, 2012–14) Aronimink Golf Club (2010–11) |
| Par | 71 |
| Length | 7,569 yards (6,921 m)[1] |
| Tour(s) | PGA Tour |
| Format | Stroke play |
| Prize fund | $6,500,000 |
| Month played | July |
| Tournament record score | |
| Aggregate | 267 Tiger Woods (2009) 267 Nick Watney (2011) |
| To par | –13 Tiger Woods (2009) –13 Nick Watney (2011) |
| Current champion | |
 Tiger Woods |
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The AT&T National is a professional golf tournament on the PGA Tour in the Washington D.C. area. Held during the Fourth of July weekend, the event is hosted by Tiger Woods and benefits the Tiger Woods Foundation. The first AT&T National was held July 5–8, 2007, at the Blue Course of the Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Maryland. The event returned to Congressional in 2008 and 2009 and has been held midway between the U.S. Open and the British Open to ensure a strong field of competitors.
The event was officially announced on March 7, 2007, to replace The International, which tour officials had abruptly cancelled on February 8, 2007.[2] The AT&T National does not use the modified Stableford scoring system used by The International in Colorado.[3]
The D.C. area hosted a regular tour event for over a quarter century. The Booz Allen Classic arrived in 1980 but was terminated after the 2006 event. Originally named the Kemper Open, it was played at Congressional from 1980–86, then moved to the nearby TPC at Avenel in 1987. Congressional hosted the tournament in 2005, while Avenel was undergoing renovations.
Congressional originally agreed to host the event for the first two years, and after opting out of hosting the 2009 U.S. Amateur, agreed to host the event in 2009 as well.[4][5] The Aronimink Golf Club in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania hosted the 2010 and 2011 events, due to Congressional being reconfigured for the 2011 U.S. Open.[6] The tournament is scheduled to return to Congressional from 2012 to 2014.[7]
Other courses that were originally considered for the new tournament were in the Kansas City, Minneapolis-Saint Paul, and Portland areas. Possible sites for the 2010 and 2011 events were the TPC at Avenel in neighboring Potomac (former site of the Booz Allen Classic) and Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Gainesville, Virginia, (four-time host of the Presidents Cup).[8][9]
CBS and Golf Channel carry the AT&T National, which is the third event on the PGA Tour to be sponsored by the telecommunications giant. The others are the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am and the defunct AT&T Classic (formerly the BellSouth Classic).[2]
Invitational status
The AT&T National is one of only five tournaments given "invitational" status by the PGA Tour,[10] and consequently it has a reduced field of only 120 players (as opposed to most full-field open tournaments with a field of 156 players). The other four tournaments with invitational status are the Arnold Palmer Invitational, the RBC Heritage, the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial, and the Memorial Tournament. Invitational tournaments have smaller fields (between 120 and 132 players), and have more freedom than full-field open tournaments in determining which players are eligible to participate in their event, as invitational tournaments are not required to fill their fields using the PGA Tour Priority Ranking System. Furthermore, unlike full-field open tournaments, invitational tournaments do not offer open qualifying (aka Monday qualifying).
Course
Congressional Country Club - Blue Course (2012)[1]
| Hole | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Out | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | In | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yards | 402 | 233 | 466 | 470 | 413 | 555 | 173 | 354 | 636 | 3,702 | 218 | 489 | 471 | 193 | 467 | 490 | 579 | 437 | 523 | 3,867 | 7,569 |
| Par | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 36 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 35 | 71 |
Winners
| Year | Player | Country | Score | To par | Margin of victory |
Winner's share ($) |
Purse ($) | Host club |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Tiger Woods (2) | United States |
72-68-67-69=276 | –8 | 2 strokes | 1,170,000 | 6,500,000 | Congressional Country Club |
| 2011 | Nick Watney | United States |
70-69-62-66=267 | −13 | 2 strokes | 1,116,000 | 6,200,000 | Aronimink Golf Club |
| 2010 | Justin Rose |  England |
69-64-67-70=270 | −10 | 1 stroke | 1,116,000 | 6,200,000 | Aronimink Golf Club |
| 2009 | Tiger Woods | United States |
64-66-70-67=267 | −13 | 1 stroke | 1,080,000 | 6,000,000 | Congressional Country Club |
| 2008 | Anthony Kim | United States |
67-67-69-65=268 | −12 | 2 strokes | 1,080,000 | 6,000,000 | Congressional Country Club |
| 2007 | K. J. Choi |  South Korea |
66-67-70-68=271 | −9 | 3 strokes | 1,080,000 | 6,000,000 | Congressional Country Club |
References
- ^ a b "Course guide". AT&T National. Retrieved June 9, 2012.
- ^ a b "Host course not chosen yet for AT&T National". ESPN. Associated Press. March 7, 2007.
- ^ Hewitt, Brian (February 27, 2007). "Air Force Base a Remote Possibility for D.C. Event". Golf Channel.[dead link]
- ^ "Congressional will host Tiger, AT&T National". ESPN. Associated Press. April 6, 2007.
- ^ "Tiger Woods and AT&T National to Return to Congressional Country Club in 2009". AT&T National.
- ^ Woods' tournament moving to Philly area for 2010–11
- ^ Svrluga, Barry (July 1, 2009). "As host of the AT&T National, Tiger Woods is busy this week – but he expects to win". The Washington Post. Retrieved April 25, 2010.
- ^ "On Golf: AT&T at Aronimink in '11?". Philadelphia Inquirer. March 2, 2008.
- ^ "Woods expects to play at Open". Daily News Wire Services. May 28, 2008.
- ^ http://www.golf.com/golf/tours_news/article/0,28136,1604531,00.html
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: AT&T National |
- Official website
- PGA Tour.com – AT&T National
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